Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Abstract

• Previous studies attempting to determine the elevation of the Central Rocky Mountains after the Laramide Orogeny (~40 Ma) have been inconclusive. Two endmember hypotheses have been formulated, one from leaf physiognomy and the other from taxonomic nearest living relative relationships, for the South Park Basin at the time of the Eocene-Oligocene (E-O) Boundary, one claiming an elevation 2km below modern elevation and the other 1 km above. This study presents the first dataset to use the stable isotope composition of lacustrine carbonates of the Antero Formation to constrain the elevation of the basin at the E-O boundary. The results show that certain samples should be eliminated from further studies, due to alterations, and that the climate in the South Park Basin produced δ18O values of carbonate between -11.3‰ to -8.5‰ relative to Pee Dee Belemnite.

Creator

• Murillo, Alejandro

Date Awarded

• 2017-01-01

Academic Affiliation

• Geological Sciences

Advisor

• Snell, Kathryn

Committee Member

• Abbott, Lon
• Stern, Charles
• Brown, Derek

Granting Institution

• University of Colorado Boulder

Subject

• Paleoclimate
• Stable Isotope
• Geochemistry
• South Park
• Paleoaltimetry
• Cathodoluminescence

Last Modified

• 2019-12-02

Resource Type

• Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Rights Statement

• In Copyright

Language

• English [eng]

Relationships

In Collection:

• Arts and Sciences Honors Program

Items

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Visibility	Actions
	paleoclimateOfTheSouthParkBasinCa34Ma.pdf	2019-11-21	Public	Download