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.
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
12 hours ago
0
24
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
0
22
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
0
151
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
0
22
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
0
20
A study led by geoscientists at the University of Sydney has revealed why some ancient continental edges became fertile sites for major mineral deposits, while others with apparently similar geology did not.
Earth Sciences
Jun 25, 2026
0
83
A chain of remote islands and underwater volcanoes between Alaska and Kamchatka has revealed a much older chapter in Earth's tectonic history than previously known. Along the Aleutian Arc, the Pacific Plate dives beneath ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 16, 2026
0
58
In the region where the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will search for signs of life, clay deposits extend beyond previous estimates, a new study finds. One hypothesis even suggests a vast ocean once covered the landing ...
Astrobiology
Jun 4, 2026
0
38
An international team of researchers including our Department of Geography has discovered a vast geological structure hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The findings are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Earth Sciences
Jun 3, 2026
0
582
The Euphrates River is the longest river in Western Asia and runs through the eastern side of the Fertile Crescent. Flowing over 1,700 miles from Turkey through Syria and Iraq, the river played a crucial role in sustaining ...
