# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/geology-and-paleoclimatology-research/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Geology and Paleoclimatology Research research in the Class of 2026?

Paleoclimate proxy records, ice sheet dynamics, and Earth system evolution dominated the field. High-resolution tree-ring records, precipitation isotopes, and the Mid-Pleistocene Transition led thematic interest. The most significant shift was the rapid emergence of lunar geology from the Chang'e-6 mission, alongside expanded interest in Proterozoic and Archean atmospheric evolution.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Geology and Paleoclimatology Research |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 9,689 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Mid-Pleistocene Transition, Tibetan Plateau, Proterozoic Eon, Tree-ring records, Chang'e-6 mission |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 40–177 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved June 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | A 485-million-year history of Earth’s surface temperature | Emily J Judd, Jessica E Tierney, Daniel J Lunt, Isabel P Montañez, Brian T Huber, Scott L Wing, Paul J Valdes | Emily J. Judd | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, United States | Science | 177 | 10.1126/science.adk3705 |
| 2 | A sample of the Moon’s far side retrieved by Chang’e-6 contains 2.83-billion-year-old basalt | Zexian Cui, Qing Yang, Yan-Qiang Zhang, Chengyuan Wang, Haiyang Xian, Zhiming Chen, Zhiyong Xiao, Yuqi Qian, James W Head, Clive R Neal, Long Xiao, Fanglu Luo, Jingyou Chen, Pengli He, Yonghua Cao, Qin Zhou, Fangfang Huang, Linli Chen, Bo Wei, Jintuan Wang, Ya-Nan Yang, Shan Li, Yiping Yang, Xiaoju Lin, Jianxi Zhu, Le Zhang, Yi-Gang Xu | Zexian Cui, Qing Yang, Le Zhang, Yi‐Gang Xu | Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, China | Science | 126 | 10.1126/science.adt1093 |
| 3 | 2023 summer warmth unparalleled over the past 2,000 years | Jan Esper, Max Torbenson, Ulf Büntgen | Jan Esper | Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany | Nature | 125 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07512-y |
| 4 | 300 years of sclerosponge thermometry shows global warming has exceeded 1.5 °C | Malcolm T. McCulloch, Amos Winter, Clark E. Sherman, Julie Trotter | Malcolm T. McCulloch | The University of Western Australia, Australia | Nature Climate Change | 91 | 10.1038/s41558-023-01919-7 |
| 5 | Regional differences in the effects of atmospheric moisture residence time on precipitation isotopes over Eurasia | Qinqin Wang, Yuwei Liu, Guofeng Zhu, Siyu Lu, Longhu Chen, Yinying Jiao, Wenmin Li, Wentong Li, Yuhao Wang | Guofeng Zhu | Northwest Normal University, China | Atmospheric Research | 89 | 10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107813 |
| 6 | Dataset of stable isotopes of precipitation in the Eurasian continent | Longhu Chen, Qinqin Wang, Guofeng Zhu, Xinrui Lin, Dongdong Qiu, Yinying Jiao, Siyu Lu, Rui Li, Gaojia Meng, Yuhao Wang | Guofeng Zhu | Northwest Normal University, China | Earth system science data | 83 | 10.5194/essd-16-1543-2024 |
| 7 | Co‐evolution of early Earth environments and microbial life | Timothy W Lyons, Christopher J Tino, Gregory P Fournier, Rika E Anderson, William D Leavitt, Kurt O Konhauser, Eva E Stüeken | Timothy W Lyons, Christopher J Tino | University of California, Riverside, United States | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 68 | 10.1038/s41579-024-01044-y |
| 8 | The restoration of karst rocky desertification has enhanced the carbon sequestration capacity of the ecosystem in southern China | Chaochao Du, Xiaoyong Bai, Yangbing Li, Qiu Tan, Cuiwei Zhao, Guangjie Luo, Jinfeng Wang, Luhua Wu, Chaojun Li, Junhan Li, Yuanhuan Xie, Ran Chen, Sirui Zhang, Lian Xiong, Xiaodong Yuang, Jingjing Liao, Lei Dai, Mingkang Long, Zilin Li, Yingying Xue, Xiaoyun Zhang, Qing Luo, Xiaoqian Shen, Shu Yang, Minghui Li | Xiaoyong Bai | Institute of Geochemistry, China | Global and Planetary Change | 67 | 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2024.104602 |
| 9 | Global and regional temperature change over the past 4.5 million years | Peter U Clark, Jeremy D Shakun, Yair Rosenthal, Peter Köhler, Patrick J Bartlein | Peter U. Clark, Jeremy D. Shakun | Oregon State University, United States | Science | 62 | 10.1126/science.adi1908 |
| 10 | Influence of mountain orientation on precipitation isotopes in the westerly belt of Eurasia | Longhu Chen, Guofeng Zhu, Qin Qin Wang, Linlin Ye, Xinrui Lin, Siyu Lu, Yinying Jiao, Rui Li, Gaojia Meng, Yuhao Wang, Jiangwei Yang, Jia Chen | Guofeng Zhu | Northwest Normal University, China | Global and Planetary Change | 59 | 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2024.104543 |
| 11 | The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability | Nicholas P McKay, Darrell S Kaufman, Stéphanie H Arcusa, Hannah R Kolus, David C Edge, Michael P Erb, Chris L Hancock, Cody C Routson, Maurycy Żarczyński, Leah P Marshall, Georgia K Roberts, Frank Telles | Nicholas P. McKay | Northern Arizona University, United States | Nature Communications | 58 | 10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w |
| 12 | The impacts of climate change on coastal groundwater | Christina Richardson, Kay L. Davis, Clara Ruiz‐González, Julia Guimond, Holly A. Michael, Anner Paldor, Nils Moosdorf, Adina Paytan | Christina Richardson | University of California at Santa Cruz, United States | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment | 57 | 10.1038/s43017-023-00500-2 |
| 13 | Environmental drivers of increased ecosystem respiration in a warming tundra | S L Maes, J Dietrich, G Midolo, S Schwieger, M Kummu, V Vandvik, R Aerts, I H J Althuizen, C Biasi, R G Björk, H Böhner, M Carbognani, G Chiari, C T Christiansen, K E Clemmensen, E J Cooper, J H C Cornelissen, B Elberling, P Faubert, N Fetcher, T G W Forte, J Gaudard, K Gavazov, Z Guan, J Guðmundsson, R Gya, S Hallin, B B Hansen, S V Haugum, J-S He, C Hicks Pries, M J Hovenden, M Jalava, I S Jónsdóttir, J Juhanson, J Y Jung, E Kaarlejärvi, M J Kwon, R E Lamprecht, M Le Moullec, H Lee, M E Marushchak, A Michelsen, T M Munir, E M Myrsky, C S Nielsen, M Nyberg, J Olofsson, H Óskarsson, T C Parker, E P Pedersen, M Petit Bon, A Petraglia, K Raundrup, N M R Ravn, R Rinnan, H Rodenhizer, I Ryde, N M Schmidt, E A G Schuur, S Sjögersten, S Stark, M Strack, J Tang, A Tolvanen, J P Töpper, M K Väisänen, R S P van Logtestijn, C Voigt, J Walz, J T Weedon, Y Yang, H Ylänne, M P Björkman, J M Sarneel, E Dorrepaal | Sybryn L. Maes | Umeå University, Sweden | Nature | 54 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07274-7 |
| 14 | Exploring the effects of weighting against homoplasy in genealogies of palaeontological phylogenetic matrices | Martín D Ezcurra | Martín D. Ezcurra | CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Argentina | Cladistics | 51 | 10.1111/cla.12581 |
| 15 | Soil carbon in the world’s tidal marshes | Tania L Maxwell, Mark D Spalding, Daniel A Friess, Nicholas J Murray, Kerrylee Rogers, Andre S Rovai, Lindsey S Smart, Lukas Weilguny, Maria Fernanda Adame, Janine B Adams, William E N Austin, Margareth S Copertino, Grace M Cott, Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa, James R Holmquist, Cai J T Ladd, Catherine E Lovelock, Marvin Ludwig, Monica M Moritsch, Alejandro Navarro, Jacqueline L Raw, Ana-Carolina Ruiz-Fernández, Oscar Serrano, Craig Smeaton, Marijn Van de Broek, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Emily Landis, Thomas A Worthington | Tania L. Maxwell, Thomas A. Worthington | University of Cambridge, United Kingdom | Nature Communications | 51 | 10.1038/s41467-024-54572-9 |
| 16 | The history of Earth’s sulfur cycle | Mojtaba Fakhraee, Peter W. Crockford, Kohen W. Bauer, Virgil Pasquier, Ichiko Sugiyama, Sergei Katsev, M. R. Raven, Maya Gomes, Pascal Philippot, Sean A. Crowe, Lidya G. Tarhan, Timothy W. Lyons, Noah J. Planavsky | Mojtaba Fakhraee, Peter W. Crockford | Yale University, United States | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment | 48 | 10.1038/s43017-024-00615-0 |
| 17 | Mid-Pleistocene climate transition triggered by Antarctic Ice Sheet growth | Zhisheng An, Weijian Zhou, Zeke Zhang, Xu Zhang, Zhonghui Liu, Youbin Sun, Steven C Clemens, Lixin Wu, Jiaju Zhao, Zhengguo Shi, Xiaolin Ma, Hong Yan, Gaojun Li, Yanjun Cai, Jimin Yu, Yuchen Sun, Siqi Li, Yu'ao Zhang, Christian Stepanek, Gerrit Lohmann, Guocheng Dong, Hai Cheng, Yu Liu, Zhangdong Jin, Tao Li, Yifei Hao, Jing Lei, Wenju Cai | Zhisheng An, Xu Zhang, Zhonghui Liu | Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Science | 47 | 10.1126/science.abn4861 |
| 18 | Returned samples indicate volcanism on the Moon 120 million years ago | Bi-Wen Wang, Qian W L Zhang, Yi Chen, Wenhao Zhao, Yu Liu, Guo-Qiang Tang, Hong-Xia Ma, Bin Su, Hejiu Hui, John W Delano, Fu-Yuan Wu, Xian-Hua Li, Yuyang He, Qiu-Li Li | B Wang, Qian W.L. Zhang, Yuyang He, Qiuli Li | Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Science | 45 | 10.1126/science.adk6635 |
| 19 | Storage, form, and influencing factors of karst inorganic carbon in a carbonate area in China | Chaochao Du, Xiaoyong Bai, Yangbing Li, Qiu Tan, Cuiwei Zhao, Guangjie Luo, Luhua Wu, Fei Chen, Chaojun Li, Ran Chen, Sirui Zhang, Lian Xiong, Fengjiao Song, Biqin Xiao, Zilin Li, Yingying Xue, Mingkang Long, Qing Luo, Xiaoyun Zhang, Minghui Li, Xiaoqian Shen, Shu Yang | Xiaoyong Bai | Guizhou Normal University, China | Science China Earth Sciences | 45 | 10.1007/s11430-023-1249-9 |
| 20 | Middle and Late Pleistocene Denisovan subsistence at Baishiya Karst Cave | Huan Xia, Dongju Zhang, Jian Wang, Zandra Fagernäs, Ting Li, Yuanxin Li, Juanting Yao, Dongpeng Lin, Gaudry Troché, Geoff M Smith, Xiaoshan Chen, Ting Cheng, Xuke Shen, Yuanyuan Han, Jesper V Olsen, Zhongwei Shen, Zhiqi Pei, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Fahu Chen, Frido Welker | Huan Xia, Dongju Zhang, Jian Wang, Zandra Fagernäs | Lanzhou University, China | Nature | 40 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07612-9 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 in Geology and Paleoclimatology Research is defined by high-resolution paleoclimate reconstructions, Quaternary ice age dynamics, and deep-time Earth and planetary evolution. Paleoclimate proxies were central to the cohort, led by precipitation isotopes, stable water isotopes, and tree-ring records featured in up to 6% of top papers. In Quaternary climate dynamics, the Mid-Pleistocene Transition emerged as a key focal point for understanding orbital forcing, eccentricity cycles, and ice sheet sensitivity, with major contributions analyzing Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior and North Atlantic cooling. In regional geomorphology and climate interactions, the Tibetan Plateau was prominent, driving studies on tectonic uplift, drainage reorganization, and Asian monsoon evolution. Deep-time Earth history maintained strong representation across the Proterozoic Eon, Archean, Great Oxidation Event, and Ediacaran, highlighting carbon-climate feedbacks and atmospheric CO2 controls. Crucially, planetary geology made a major impact on this cohort, highlighted by lunar sample returns from China's Chang'e-6 mission to the South Pole-Aitken basin, providing critical constraint on late-stage lunar volcanism and crater chronology.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Comparing the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026 reveals significant thematic expansion toward planetary sample analysis, orbital paleoclimatology, and tectonic-hydrologic coupling. The most prominent surge was driven by lunar geology, where research on the Chang'e-6 mission, the South Pole-Aitken basin, and late-stage lunar volcanism rose from absence in the prior year to 4% of top papers following sample returns. In terrestrial paleoclimatology, studies of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition and tree-ring records tripled in frequency (from 2% to 6%), signaling an intensified focus on high-precision climate benchmarks and nonlinear climate responses. Research on the Tibetan Plateau and Proterozoic Eon also experienced steep gains, expanding from zero presence to 6% representation. Similarly, investigations into extreme El Niño events, carbon-climate feedbacks, and stable water isotope dynamics doubled or newly emerged. Conversely, generic regional surveys saw reduced relative emphasis as the field pivoted toward mechanistic integration of paleoclimate proxy data, orbital cycles, and planetary evolution.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/geology-and-paleoclimatology-research/2026. Accessed 2026-07-31.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
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