title: Earth science: palaeo-altimetry of Tibet.
abstract: The determination of palaeo-elevation has emerged in the past 15 years as an important tool for constraining physical processes that govern the formation of mountain belts. Rowley and Currie report palaeo-elevations for the Lunpola basin within the Tibetan plateau and claim that these elevations are incompatible with 'mantle-thickening models' for mountain formation. We show here that their data do not support this conclusion and, indeed, are consistent with its opposite. The Tibetan plateau could have risen by a kilometre or more as its dense lower lithosphere sank into the underlying mantle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0399, USA. molnar@cires.colorado.edu
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Molnar
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Houseman
authors.forename: Philip C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: England