ClimSens Project Database (Table 1)

Studying the climate dynamics of past interglacials (IGs) may help to better assess the anthropogenically influenced dynamics of the current IG, the Holocene. We select IG sections from the longest ice core archive, EPICA Dome C (EDC), which covers the past 800 thousand years, and study as well several long, high-resolution marine sediment records. We analyze records of Antarctic temperature, radiative forcing (greenhouse gases and other factors), and sea-surface temperature (SST). Change-point regressions inform about longer-term climate changes and trends within IGs. Comparing trends in temperature with trends in forcing allows inference of longer-term IG climate sensitivities. Results from many records indicate deviations from a “Holocene climate optimum”. IG sensitivities are found to be comparable to estimates for the instrumental period; warming or cooling phases during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 or 11 do not show significant differences in climate sensitivity.