Dripstones tell us about the uplift of mountains

A team of geologists of the University of Innsbruck the University of Leeds (UK) discovered the oldest radiometrically dated dripstones currently known from the European Alps. Thus they are able to gain valuable new insights into the complex processes which are at work in the orogenesis and which determine the Alps' current appearance. In one of his songs Bob Dylan asks "How many years can a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea?", and thus poses an intriguing geological question for which an accurate answer is not easily provided. Mountain ranges are in a constant interplay between climatically controlled weathering processes on the one hand and the tectonic forces that cause folding and thrusting and thus thickening of the Earth's crust on the other hand. While erosion eventually erases any geological obstacles, tectonic forces are responsible for pilingand lifting-up rocks and thus for forming spectacular mountain landscapes such as the European Alps. In reality, climate, weathering and mountain uplift interact in a complex manner and quantifying rates for erosion and uplift, especially for the last couple of millions of years, remains a challenging task. In a recent Geology paper Michael Meyer, University of Innsbruck, et al.