title: Comment on "A 12-million-year temperature history of the tropical Pacific Ocean".
abstract: Zhang et al. (Reports, 4 April 2014, p. 84) interpret TEX86 and U(37)(K') paleotemperature data as providing a fundamentally new view of tropical Pacific climate during the warm Pliocene period. We argue that, within error, their Pliocene data actually support previously published data indicating average western warm-pool temperature similar to today and a reduced zonal gradient, referred to as a permanent El Niño-like state.
authors.affiliation: Ocean Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA. acr@ucsc.edu.
authors.forename: Ana Christina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ravelo
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, USA.
authors.forename: Kira Trillium
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Alexey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fedorov
authors.affiliation: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
authors.forename: Heather Louise
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Ford