We present three new isotope-enabled simulations for the last millennium (850–1850 CE) and compare them to records from a global speleothem database. Offsets between the simulated and measured oxygen isotope ratios are fairly small. While modeled oxygen isotope ratios are more variable on decadal timescales, proxy records are more variable on (multi-)centennial timescales. This could be due to a lack of long-term variability in complex model simulations, but proxy biases cannot be excluded.

To extend climate information back in time, we investigate the climate sensitivity of a δ¹⁸O network from tree rings, consisting of 26 European sites and covering the last 400 years. Our results suggest that the δ¹⁸O variability is associated with large-scale anomaly patterns that resemble those observed for the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. We conclude that the investigation of large-scale climate signals far beyond instrumental records can be done with a δ¹⁸O network derived from tree rings.

The Mediterranean Sea turned repeatedly into an oxygen-deprived basin during the geological past, as evidenced by distinct sediment layers called sapropels. We use here records of the last sapropel S1 retrieved in front of the Nile River to explore the relationships between riverine input and seawater oxygenation. We decipher the seasonal cycle of fluvial input and seawater chemistry as well as the decisive influence of primary productivity on deoxygenation at millennial timescales.

Presently, central Europe is under the influence of two types of climate, transitional and continental. The 60 ka long multiproxy speleothem dataset from Slovakia records the climate of the Last Interglacial cycle and its transition to the Last Glacial. The interpretation of stable isotopic composition and trace element content proxies helps to distinguish which factor had the strongest influence on the δ¹⁸O record shape: the local temperature, the humidity or the source effect.

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~21 000 years ago) is a major focus for evaluating how well climate models simulate climate changes as large as those expected in the future. Here, we compare the latest climate model (CMIP6-PMIP4) to the previous one (CMIP5-PMIP3) and to reconstructions. Large-scale climate features (e.g. land–sea contrast, polar amplification) are well captured by all models, while regional changes (e.g. winter extratropical cooling, precipitations) are still poorly represented.

We investigate how mid-Holocene dust reduction affects the Earth’s energetics from a suite of climate simulations. Our analyses confirm the peculiar role of the dust radiative effect over bright surfaces such as African deserts. We highlight a strong dependence on the dust pattern. The relative dust forcing between West Africa and the Middle East impacts the relative response of Indian and African monsoons and between the western tropical Atlantic and the Atlantic meridional circulation.

Regional trends in the oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) composition of stalagmites reflect several climate processes. We compare stalagmite δ¹⁸O records from monsoon regions and model simulations to identify the causes of δ¹⁸O variability over the last 12 000 years, and between glacial and interglacial states. Precipitation changes explain the glacial–interglacial δ¹⁸O changes in all monsoon regions; Holocene trends are due to a combination of precipitation, atmospheric circulation and temperature changes.

Climate models struggle to simulate a LGM ocean circulation in agreement with paleotracer data. Using a set of simulations, we test the impact of boundary conditions and other modelling choices. Model–data comparisons of sea-surface temperatures and sea-ice cover support an overall cold Southern Ocean, with implications on the AMOC strength. Changes in implemented boundary conditions are not sufficient to simulate a shallower AMOC; other mechanisms to better represent convection are required.

This study assesses the importance of resolution and land–atmosphere feedbacks for European climate. We performed an asynchronously coupled experiment that combined a global climate model (~ 100 km), a regional climate model (18 km), and a dynamic vegetation model (18 km). Modelled climate and land cover agree reasonably well with independent reconstructions based on pollen and other paleoenvironmental proxies. The regional climate is significantly influenced by land cover.

Młynek Lake, located near the village of Janiki Wielkie (in the Warmia and Masuria region of north-east Poland) has been selected for multi-faceted palaeoenvironmental research based on a precise radiocarbon scale. Bottom sediments of this reservoir also contain unique information about anthropogenic activity and climate changes during last 2400 years.

Since the understanding of Holocene climate change appears to be a relevant issue for future climate change, the paleoclimate calibrations have to be improved. Here, surface samples from Mongolia and Siberia were analyzed to provide new calibrations for pollen and biomarker climate models. These calibrations appear to be more powerful than global calibrations, especially in an arid central Asian context. These calibrations will improve the understanding of monsoon Holocene oscillations.

Recent work has shown that the mid-Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2, ∼ 94 million years ago) was associated with a global increase in precipitation, but regional patterns are still poorly known. We present two new OAE2 records from the ancient inner continental shelf of North Carolina, USA. These cores show an increase in the amount of land-plant-derived organic matter delivered to the inner shelf during OAE2, indicating that this region experienced increased precipitation during OAE2.

Far-afield changes in vegetation such as those that occurred over the Sahara during the middle Holocene and the consequent changes in dust emissions can affect the intensity of the South Asian Monsoon (SAM) rainfall and the lengthening of the monsoon season. This remote influence is mediated by anomalies in Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures and may have shaped the evolution of the SAM during the termination of the African Humid Period.

Qualitative evidence contained within historical sources provides an important record of climate variability for periods prior to the onset of systematic meteorological data collection. Before such evidence can be used for climate reconstructions, it needs to be converted to a quantitative format. A common approach is the generation of ordinal-scale climate indices. This review, written by members of the PAGES CRIAS working group, provides a global synthesis of the use of the index approach.

Climate researchers often need to compromise in their sampling between increasing the number of measurements to obtain higher time resolution and combining measurements to improve the reliability of climate reconstructions. In this study, we test several methods for achieving the optimal balance between these competing interests by simulating seasonality reconstructions using stable and clumped isotopes. Our results inform sampling strategies for climate reconstructions in general.

Here we present a first high-temporal-resolution record of mineral composition in a Greenland ice core (SIGMA-D) over the past 100 years using SEM–EDS analysis. Our results show that the ice core dust composition varied on multi-decadal scales, which was likely affected by local temperature changes. We suggest that the ice core dust was constantly supplied from distant sources (mainly northern Canada) as well as local ice-free areas in warm periods (1915 to 1949 and 2005 to 2013).

We present a reconstruction of winter–spring temperatures developed using organic proxies preserved in well-dated lake sediments from southwest Iceland to assess seasonal temperature changes in the North Atlantic region over the last 2000 years. The gradual warming trend observed in our record is likely influenced by sea surface temperatures, which are sensitive to changes in ocean circulation and seasonal insolation, during the winter and spring season.

The Pliocene represents a geologically warm period with polar ice restricted to the Antarctic. Nevertheless, variability and ice volume persisted in the Pliocene. This work revisits a classic site on which much of our understanding of Pliocene paleoclimate variability is based and corrects errors in data sets related to ice volume and ocean surface temperature. In particular, it generates an improved representation of an enigmatic glacial episode in Pliocene times (circa 3.3 Ma).

A compilation of the results of absolute dating and high-resolution paleoclimatic records from the Xishawo site in the Dunhuang area and historical archives reveals that two desertification events occurred at ~ 800–600 BCE and ~ 1450 CE. The later desertification event was consistent with the immediate fall in tribute trade that occurred in ~ 1450 CE, which indicates that climate change played a potentially important role in explaining the decline of the Ancient Silk Road trade.

This paper analyzes the uniqueness of a paleoclimate event entitled the Bølling–Allerød Younger Dryas (BA/YD) through a statistical lens in order to better understand its relation to other events similar to it. Furthermore, we implement a novel statistical method entitled PCOut in order to measure the BA/YD's various elements of uniqueness in existing paleoclimate records. We suggest future use of this method for paleoclimate research that aims to assess uniqueness across multiple criteria.