多尺度的古地理学研究:思考与展望OA

Palaeogeographic units on the Earth's surface exhibit a hierarchical structure,however,their connotations,research significance,reconstruction scales,and methodologies remain unclear,hindering the coordinated development of palaeogeography.Each palaeogeographic unit is a palaeo-geographic unit with specific climatic,hydrological,and ecological characteristics.Based on the relative size and formation of landforms,palaeogeographic units are divided into three levels:large,medium,and small,correspondingly classifying palaeogeographic research scales into three levels.Large-scale palaeogeographic research investigates the spatiotemporal distribution and multi-sphere interactions of large-scale palaeogeographic units(oceans,continents,and large-scale geomorphic undulations within them)over millions to tens of millions of years.This research is conducted globally and across tectonic plates(or basins),aiming to predict habitable Earth and prospective areas for mineral resources.Medium-scale palaeogeographic research focuses on the characteristics,distribution,evolution,and associated surface processes of medium-scale palaeogeographic units(geomorphic units between large-scale geomorphic undulations and sub-environments)within a large geomorphic unit(such as a basin).It operates on timescales of hundreds of thousands of years and serves to predict habitable region and guide mineral resource exploration.Small-scale palaeogeographic research examines the characteristics,distribution,changes,and corresponding small-scale surface processes of sub-/micro-environments within a sedimen-tary system.This research covers timescales of tens to hundreds of thousands of years and aims to predict human habitable locality and to evaluate and develop mineral resources.Future palaeogeography should further develop multi-information quantitative interpretation methods for multi-scale palaeogeographic parameters,innovate intelligent reconstruction technologies of multi-scale palaeogeography,deepen the understanding of the formation mechanisms across different scales,establish models that explain how palaeogeography controls mineral resource distribution at various scales,and enhance collaborative research on multi-scale palaeogeography.