This study details a systematic approach to finding a new high-resolution East Antarctic ice core site. The study initially outlines seven criteria that a new site must fulfil, encompassing specific accumulation, ice dynamics and atmospheric circulation aspects. We then use numerous techniques including Antarctic surface mass balance syntheses, ground-truthing of satellite data by airborne radar surveys and reanalysis products to pinpoint promising regions.

We critically assess, for the first time since its inception in 1997, the theory behind the Coexistence Approach. This method has reconstructed purportedly accurate, often highly precise, palaeoclimates for a wide range of Cenozoic Eurasian localities. We argue that its basic assumptions clash with modern biological and statistical theory and that its modus operandi is fundamentally flawed. We provide guidelines on how to establish robust taxon-based palaeoclimate reconstruction methods.

The observed changes in the presented proxy records indicate variations in both the continental runoff and the marine influence, related to regional climatic variability. Therefore, we put forward the suggestion that global atmospheric changes (related to changes in SAMS and SACZ intensity) have made an impact on the hydrodynamics and, consequently, on the local sedimentation regime and the inner Uruguayan continental shelf over the past 1200 cal yr BP (AD 750–2000).

This paper describes a daily high-resolution reconstruction of precipitation and temperature fields in France from 1871 onwards. A statistical method linking atmospheric circulation to local precipitation is refined for taking advantage of recently published global long-term atmospheric and oceanic reconstructions. The resulting data set allows filling in the spatial and temporal data gaps in historical surface observations, and improving our knowledge on the local-scale climate variability.

Our paper presents the experimental design for the second phase of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP). We outline the way in which climate models should be set up in order to study the Pliocene – a period of global warmth in Earth's history which is relevant for our understanding of future climate change. By conducting a model intercomparison we hope to understand the uncertainty associated with model predictions of a warmer climate.

A set of 13 interglacial time slice experiments was carried out using a CCSM3-DGVM to study global climate variability between and within the Quaternary interglaciations of MIS 1, 5, 11, 13, and 15. Seasonal surface temperature anomalies can be explained by local insolation anomalies induced by the astronomical forcing in most regions and by GHG forcing at high latitudes and early Bruhnes interglacials. However, climate feedbacks may modify the surface temperature response in specific regions.

We compare eight pollen records reflecting environmental change in the tropical Andes over the past 30 000 years. Our analysis focuses on the signature of millennial-scale climate variability in the tropical Andes: Heinrich stadials (HS) and Greenland interstadials (GI). We identify rapid responses of the tropical vegetation, with downslope upper forest line (UFL) migrations and cooling during HS and the Younger Dryas.

We present new measurements of δO₂⁄N₂ and δ¹⁸O_atm performed on well-conserved ice from EDC covering MIS5 and between 380 and 800 ka. The combination of the observation of a 100 ka periodicity in the new δO₂⁄N₂ record with a MIS5 multi-site multi-proxy study has revealed a potential influence of local climatic parameters on δO₂⁄N₂. Moreover, we propose that the varying delay between d18Oatm and precession for the last 800 ka is affected by the occurrence of ice sheet discharge events.

Simulations of pre-industrial and mid-Pliocene Arctic sea ice by eight GCMs are analysed. Ensemble variability in sea ice extent is greater in the mid-Pliocene summer, when half of the models simulate sea-ice-free conditions. Weaker correlations are seen between sea ice extent and temperatures in the pre-industrial era compared to the mid-Pliocene. The need for more comprehensive sea ice proxy data is highlighted, in order to better compare model performances.

Here we present a chronology (WD2014) for the upper part (0–2850 m; 31.2 ka BP) of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core, which is based on layer counting of distinctive annual cycles preserved in the elemental, chemical and electrical conductivity records. We validated the chronology by comparing it to independent high-accuracy, absolutely dated chronologies. Given its demonstrated high accuracy, WD2014 can become a reference chronology for the Southern Hemisphere.

Comparison between records reveals a coherent match between the meridional displacement of the ITCZ-SPSH system and the regional fluvial and aeolian terrigenous input variability. The aeolian input intensity and the anoxic conditions recorded by marine sediments showed a close link that suggests a common mechanism associated with SPSH displacement. Changes in sediment discharge to the continental shelf are linked to the southward displacement of the ITCZ-SPSH and Walker circulation.

Integrating discharge data of the River Ammer back to 1926 and a 5500-year flood layer record from an annually laminated sediment core of the downstream Ammersee allowed investigating changes in the frequency of major floods in Central Europe on interannual to multi-centennial timescales. Significant correlations between flood frequency variations in both archives and changes in the activity of the Sun suggest a solar influence on the frequency of these hydrometeorological extremes.