Orbital forcing is the most important known external driver of the climate system. Nevertheless, resultant internal climate feedbacks that invoke different climate components across different time scales play a critical role in defining the climate response to orbital forcing. These internal climate feedbacks are particularly apparent at past climate transitions, which cannot be simply explained by orbital changes alone (e.g. glacial inception and termination, the mid-Brunhes transition, the mid-Pleistocene transition, Pliocene-Pleistocene transition).

In this interdisciplinary session, we aim to bring together studies of centennial-to-orbital scale interactions among the atmosphere-ocean system, cryosphere, and carbon cycle that advance our understanding of the climate system during climate transitions. Modeling, theoretical and proxy-based studies as well as novel methodologies that combine the above approaches are especially encouraged.

Keynote talk "Ocean carbon storage and release over a glacial cycle" by Dr. James Rae, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews