An international team, headed by members of the University of Bern, has shown for the first time that the Swiss Alps continue to rise. In the picture: Eiger Mönch and Jungfrau. Pixabay
An international team, headed by members of the University of Bern, has shown for the first time that the Swiss Alps continue to rise. In the picture: Eiger Mönch and Jungfrau. Pixabay - An international team of geologists, headed by members of the University of Bern, has shown for the first time that the Swiss Alps are being lifted faster than they are being lowered through erosion - and are thus growing even higher. To do this, the researchers quantified the erosion of the Alps with the help of isotopes measured in the sand of more than 350 rivers throughout the European Alps. These isotopes are formed by cosmic rays and bear information on the Earth's surface erosion. How quickly are the Alps eroded? Has erosion been faster than crustal uplift, and is erosion dependent on precipitation? An international team of geologists, headed by members of the University of Bern, was able to solve these questions. The researchers were able to illustrate that the erosion occurs more slowly than the uplift, especially in the Swiss Alps.
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