You want to work in Nevada, USA, in the summer time where the temperature

is consistently between 100 F and 123 F.

I visited Hoover Dam last July. It was 113 F inside the parking structure in the

shade, and 123 F outside in the Sun about 1:00 P.M., and over 100 F

in Las Vegas.

So what Latitude, Longitude and Altitude are you going to study, just for my

curiosity?

That should read: next spring and summer. We were at the field site this

May and have been studying the specimens back in Massachusetts over

the summer. The weather was excellent in Toiyabe National Forest this past May.

Do you have any limestone or reefs, or is it deeper marine sediments ?

Based on at least three independent lines of evidence, these appear to be deep water sediments.

That is what I would have guessed, based on the elevation of the reef

that contains the salt in the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. About 10,000 feet,

and the wave cut benches on the flanks of the mountains and islands

in and around these giant salt flats.

There are also whale skeletons at 15,000 feet in the Andes.

Looking at the Forest Service Web site, they have a cave specialist,

and about 2200 caves in the 6.3 million acre Humbolt - Toiyabe National

Forest.

If I were guessing, I would put the limestone in a period of time either

before or after the deep water marine time periods when the water

was more shallow.

Reefs form in shallow marine environs where either the land is sinking or the

ocean is getting deeper as reefs grow upward and outward.

Do you have any idea what is the age of the Limestone?

You might advertise your offer through the National Speleological Society,

Huntsville Alabama.

A very diverse group of people with numerous interests.

I read the article a long time ago, and can not remember where, but since I read

mostly Science Magazines like Popular Science, Scientific American, American

Scientist, Discover etc, I would hazard a guess it is in one of those Magazines.

Apparently the Guide showed the reporter the whale skeleton at its 15,000 foot

elevation location in the Andes.

I would be most interested in knowing if the Strata is horizontal with sea floor bedding

layers, or tilted and elevated by tectonic forces, up-lifted to the 15,000 foot level.

It makes a considerable difference when trying to establish the maximum

elevation that the oceans ever achieved before becoming far lower in elevation

as they are now.

The maximum sea level elevation is a " Dog Chasing its own tail "

problem since Continents move vertically, and they undergo lateral compression

buckling creating folds, faults, and mountain ranges. In addition the ocean

floor moves vertically in response to the changes in the depth of the oceans.

I suspect it is an unsolvable problem since each continent, and each reef

on Each continent would provide a different story about changes in elevation

of the planets sea level at various times.

I suspect that reefs grow upward when the rate of increase in the ocean's sea level

is gradually decreasing toward zero, and reefs die when oceans suddenly

drop a significant distance in elevation, as when the ocean plunges into a previously dry basin. for example, the Mediterranean.

The end of the Permian was supposedly associated with a sudden 80 meter

drop in ocean levels world wide.

I will see what I can find out about Whale Skeletons in the Andes.

In this case the lack of a picture of bones sticking out of a cliff face means there

is no definitive proof as to whether they exist or do not exist. The proof is in the documentation and distribution of materials that proof it exists, proves where it is at,

associates it with some geologic layer, and then documents its X, Y and especially

Z co-ordinates, and provides a map where it can be looked at.

Since you actually work on the coastal areas of South America, are there wave cut

benches, or remnants of wave cut benches above the coastal plateau ?

And ,if they are there, do they maintain a fairly constant elevation for

hundreds of Kilometers along the coast?

They may be buried, so a soil change, and a texture change may be more evident.,

or a sudden change in the slope of the land from shallower to steeper.

If it is a maximum global sea level elevation, the change should extend for

hundreds of kilometers along the coast.

Since whales do not walk on land, all whale skeletons should be found

below that elevation. The only way whale skeletons could be found above

that elevation would be in an area of lateral tectonic compression resulting

in a fairly resent buckling and rupture of the layers resulting in a tectonic

uplift.

Whale skeletons tell you that you had ocean over what is now land.

Topographic changes tell you the maximum elevation of the water

above the whale skeletons.

What you are seeing in Peru is a global pattern of sudden sea level change

of minus 870 meter change in sea level followed by a plus 120 meter

change in sea level elevation between 12,000 and 8,000 years ago.

If all of the rest of the ice suddenly melted, it would only account for

less than 100 meters of the 750 meters of prior drop in sea level elevation.

All of the continents did not decide to suddenly increase their elevation

in the Tertiary, so what happened globally to account or a minimum of 650

meter drop in sea level elevation?

That involves over 15.005 % of the entire volume of the Oceans.

This leave one with three options:

1) A really big hole formed and the oceans poured into it.

2) The sea floor became lower.

3 ) The surface area of the Planet increased thus increasing the

volume of the ocean basins so the oceans are thinner and they

cover more surface area which looks like continents rising.