Overview
- The peer‑reviewed research was published February 2 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface by a University of Glasgow–led team.
- Earlier seismic images reveal a cold, round anomaly roughly 50–100 kilometers wide at about 200 kilometers depth, interpreted as the remnant of a detached drip.
- Modeling indicates the drip separated between two and five million years ago, aligning with when the Green River incised its canyon.
- Surface analyses identify a bullseye uplift pattern and an anomalously thin crust beneath the Uinta Mountains, matching the roughly 400 meters of elevation change required for the river’s route.
- The authors reject alternatives such as an older river, sediment overtopping, or southern capture, and note the merger with the Colorado reshaped the continental divide and regional habitats.