Finding the Relationship Between Elevation and Isotopic Compositions of Stream Waters in the Peruvian Andes

The Peruvian Andes is a prime example of highly-elevated topography generated by oceanic plate subduction. As a result, several studies have been made to further understand the formation of the Andean Mountain Range, but as indicated by previous studies (Schildgen et al, 2007), researchers are still unable to ascertain the of the magnitude of the uplift solely based on structural history due to conflicting uplift histories and tectonic drivers. Several (conflicting) geodynamic theories and models were suggested for explaining the Andean orogeny— one of which was a continuous late Cenozoic event that caused the delamination of the lithosphere on the South American plate, which in turn generated plate uplift and canyon incisions in the late Miocene. Another theory was that during the late Cenozoic, the crust continuously thickened and shortened, which resulted in slow surface uplift and also caused canyon incision. As a result, we believe that best way to confirm or dis-prove the currently proposed models would be to apply several different proxy approaches that deviate from structural history research while extending the research areas in question.