title: Sea surface temperature of the mid-Piacenzian ocean: a data-model comparison.
abstract: The mid-Piacenzian climate represents the most geologically recent interval of long-term average warmth relative to the last million years, and shares similarities with the climate projected for the end of the 21(st) century. As such, it represents a natural experiment from which we can gain insight into potential climate change impacts, enabling more informed policy decisions for mitigation and adaptation. Here, we present the first systematic comparison of Pliocene sea surface temperature (SST) between an ensemble of eight climate model simulations produced as part of PlioMIP (Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project) with the PRISM (Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping) Project mean annual SST field. Our results highlight key regional and dynamic situations where there is discord between the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and the climate model simulations. These differences have led to improved strategies for both experimental design and temporal refinement of the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: United States Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 20192, USA. hdowsett@usgs.gov
authors.forename: Harry J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Dowsett
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.forename: Danielle K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Stoll
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Chandler
authors.forename: Linda E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Sohl
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bentsen
authors.forename: Bette L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Otto-Bliesner
authors.forename: Fran J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Bragg
authors.forename: Wing-Le
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Contoux
authors.forename: Aisling M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: Alan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Haywood
authors.forename: Jeff A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jost
authors.forename: Youichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamae
authors.forename: Gerrit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lohmann
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lunt
authors.forename: Kerim H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Nisancioglu
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abe-Ouchi
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ramstein
authors.forename: Christina R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Riesselman
authors.forename: Marci M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Nan A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Rosenbloom
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Salzmann
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stepanek
authors.forename: Stephanie L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Strother
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Zhongshi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang