Cenozoic Topography and Climate in the Rocky Mountains: A Stable Isotope Study in Central Wyoming

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: The topographic history of the Rocky Mountain province is uncertain and currently debated. This study examines that history through a sequence of Tertiary sedimentary units exposed at the southern border of the Wind River Basin in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming. Isotopic analyses of fluvial and lacustrine carbonates from these formations yielding carbonate d18O values ranged from -15.4 per mil to -10.9 per mil (VPDB). No large isotopic shifts, which would indicate periods of uplift, were observed. Instead of implying Oligocene uplift of the Rocky Mountains, these data suggest that the mountain range has existed as a prominent topographic feature at least since the early Eocene. The observed trends are best explained primarily by global temperature change and secondarily by regional climate change.

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 2005

Author	Sherman, Laura Saylor
Primary advisor	Chamberlain, C. Page
Advisor	Paytan, Adina
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

Subject	School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences
Subject	Rocky Mountains
Subject	Wyoming
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/fy884qx5138

Use and reproduction: Theses courtesy of Stanford University Libraries. If you have questions, please contact the Branner Earth Science Library & Map Collections at brannerlibrary@stanford.edu.

Preferred Citation: Sherman, Laura Saylor. (2005). Cenozoic Topography and Climate in the Rocky Mountains: A Stable Isotope Study in Central Wyoming. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/fy884qx5138

Undergraduate Honors Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability

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