Scientists at the USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center are utilizing newly implemented Quaternary chronologic techniques to determine when the present dramatic topography began to form and what induced it. Techniques include 10Be and 26Al cosmogenic nuclide, optically stimulated luminescence, U-series, and radiocarbon analyses that use various strategies to age date features in the landscape. These data are being coupled with geologic mapping of the structural, bedrock, neotectonic, and geomorphic features of the southern Rocky Mountains to understand the geomorphic history of the region.
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