| Title | Editorial preface to special issue: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology in the era of genomic science |
| Author | Meng, Hong-Hu |
| Publication | PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 701 |
| Corresponding Author | Meng, HH |
| Abstract | Most past research on Earth's deep history has focused on geological datasets, whereas genomic approaches have been less frequently applied to examining past events. We present this Virtual Special Issue (VSI) to advance our understanding of palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, and palaeoecology, along with their genomic imprints, and to elucidate how environmental changes have driven genetic change. The VSI comprises twenty contributions, organised into three thematic sections (palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, and palaeoecology) that collectively explore tectonic, climatic, and ecological dynamics through a genomic lens. We contend that these classical Earth science disciplines - palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, and palaeoecology - are indispensable to properly decode the genomic archive. DNA serves both as a blueprint of life and as a living archive of Earth's past. By integrating geological records with genomic data, we move beyond descriptive accounts toward a mechanistic understanding, thereby laying the evolutionary groundwork needed to infer biotic responses to future global change. These contributions offer valuable insights into palaeoscenarios from a genomic perspective and are likely to attract broad interest among researchers in geology and biogeography. |
