The geological record provides insight into how climate processes may operate and evolve in a high CO2 environment and the nature of the climate system during a turnover from icehouse to greenhouse state — a transition that may potentially occur in the near future. Palaeoenvironmental records and climate models are two contrasting and yet complementary sources of information on past climates. Both approaches independently generate insights into the dynamics of the climate system. However, more information can be extracted about the drivers of climate variability and change when the two approaches are combined. The aim of this session is to share progress in our understanding of global changes based on the integration of geochemical/paleobotanical/sedimentological techniques and numerical models. We invite abstracts that reconstruct Earth’s climate, investigate how the interconnections of the key surface reservoirs (vegetation-ocean-atmosphere-cryosphere-biogeochemistry) impact climate, identify tipping points and thresholds and studies that use climate model outputs to understand the physical controls of climate variability. Pertinent themes may include greenhouse-icehouse transitions and intervals testifying for extreme changes.
We are pleased to have Martin Ziegler as our invited speaker talking about "Cenozoic climate evolution revealed by clumped isotope thermometry".