(ESH) Plant Megafossil records of Andean Uplift

The objectives of this study are to 1) help constrain the Miocene uplift history of the Northern Andes by collecting, age-dating, and analyzing the Miocene Jadibamba flora from the Altiplano of northern Peru and 2) increase the accuracy of the leaf morphology climate and elevation proxy by collecting and analyzing 15 modern vegetation samples from the eastern lowlands and eastern slope of the Andes, Peru. This study addresses the objectives of the Earth System History program by providing 1) well-dated, quantitative, terrestrial paleoclimate proxy data which can be used to evaluate the results of general circulation models, 2) topographic and vegetation boundary conditions for general circulation models, and 3) an improved calibration between leaf morphology and climate, which will increase the accuracy of this climate and elevation proxy.