The global ocean and climate variability is controlled by manifold and complex interactions between low and high latitudes, mediated via atmospheric and oceanic circulation. For instance, waxing and waning of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets modulate global monsoon systems and the ITCZ through their influence on the global overturning circulation. In turn, the low latitude oceans and atmospheric circulation are central to the global hydrological cycle and climate as they provide the heat and moisture distributed across latitudes and longitudes. Western boundary currents connect low and high latitudes as they control heat and salt export from the tropics towards the poles. The Southern Ocean is central to the global carbon cycle and thought to control glacial-interglacial changes in atmospheric CO2.

While the interplay between low and high latitudes is essential for major global climate changes on various time scales, documenting the teleconnections and transmission pathways involving “atmospheric bridges” and “ocean tunnels” remains a major challenge. Numerous issues remain unresolved: For instance, do the low latitudes lead or lag the high-latitude changes during terminations and millennial events? Do Northern or Southern Hemisphere high latitudes exert a more dominant influence on the tropics?

In this session, we welcome contributions on all aspects of climate linkages between low and high latitudes from around the globe spanning centennial to orbital time scales during the Quaternary. This includes proxy reconstructions from various archives (marine sediments, corals, speleothems, lake sediments and ice cores), as well as numerical models (including PMIP, freshwater housing experiments, transient simulations). By bringing together communities working across different latitudes, this session aims to reconcile proxy and model perspectives of inter- and intra-hemispheric coupling to foster an improved understanding of large-scale ocean and climate dynamics.