The pacing of the global climate system by orbital variations is clearly demonstrated in the timing of glacial-interglacial cycles, but the mechanisms that translate this forcing into regional and global climate changes continue to be debated. We invite submissions that explore the climate system response to orbital forcing, that seek to support or refute the traditional Milankovitch view of a northern hemisphere ice-sheet control, and that test the stability of these relationships under different climate regimes or across evolving climate states (e.g. mid Pleistocene transition, Pliocene-Pleistocene transition, Miocene vs Pliocene). Submissions exploring proxy data and/or modelling work, and employing orbitally paced proxy records for timescale construction, are welcomed.

This session has two partner sessions: "Modelling paleoclimates from the Cretaceous to the Holocene: learning from numerical experiments and model-data comparisons (organised by D. Lunt et al.) and "Paleo models and data - lessons for the future" (organised by J. Hargreaves et al).