Paleogeography is the scientific study and reconstruction of past geographic configurations of Earth’s surface, including the distribution of continents, oceans, mountain ranges, basins, and depositional environments through geologic time. It integrates data from plate tectonics, stratigraphy, paleomagnetism, sedimentology, paleontology, and geochronology to infer past positions and movements of tectonic plates and associated paleoenvironments. Paleogeographic reconstructions provide essential boundary conditions for paleoclimate modeling, basin analysis, sediment routing systems, and biogeographic studies, enabling quantitative assessment of how changes in Earth’s surface configuration have influenced climate systems, ocean circulation, biodiversity patterns, and the formation and distribution of natural resources.
For the first time, researchers have discovered a new species of extinct amphibian from Ice Age Los Angeles at La Brea Tar Pits: a spadefoot toad they have named Spea labreae. Only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2026
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260
As NASA's Curiosity rover recently began climbing a Martian valley nicknamed "Valle Grande," it sent back images that were a familiar sight to mission scientists: honeycomb-like textures called polygonal fractures, each about ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 29, 2026
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371
Two Danish coastal cliffs where paleontologists have uncovered 55-million-year-old fossils of prehistoric wildlife are likely to gain World Heritage status as UNESCO's committee meets in South Korea.
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 22, 2026
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21
Calculating a fossil's position throughout geological history is a complex process. In paleontology and other disciplines, determining a location in the past is a challenge that requires refined computational tools to process ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 20, 2026
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123
A new study led by the University of Barcelona reveals that freshwater exported from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea triggered major environmental changes across the Eastern Mediterranean.
Earth Sciences
Jul 16, 2026
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15
Earth's temperature has been much cooler in the past than previously thought, meaning it could be moving toward the warmest it's ever been.
Earth Sciences
Jul 9, 2026
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64
Many of the boulders scattered across the Swiss landscape did not originate where they now stand. Instead, they were carried by ice nearly 24,000 years ago. For the first time, researchers at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 2, 2026
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25
Scientists have uncovered why Antarctica became engulfed by ice millions of years before the Arctic. The international research, published in Science, helps solve one of climate science's longest-standing puzzles: how a vast ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 2, 2026
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158
The Tibetan Plateau, together with the Hindu Kush–Karakorum–Himalaya region, has more snow and ice than any other region on Earth apart from the polar regions. As a result, this high-altitude region is particularly sensitive ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 30, 2026
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23
An international expedition including University of Sydney researchers has pieced together the clearest picture yet of how the Great Barrier Reef responded to dramatic environmental change over the past 30,000 years. Multiple ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 29, 2026
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27
