{"id":1366,"date":"2025-09-15T16:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/palaeoclimate\/?p=1366"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:16:00","slug":"review-on-the-role-of-paleoclimate-data-in-climate-change-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/palaeoclimate\/review-on-the-role-of-paleoclimate-data-in-climate-change-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Review on the role of paleoclimate data in climate change studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

How can the deep past help us understand today\u2019s climate crisis? A new review in Annual Review of Environment and Resources<\/em> (led by S.P.E.C.IA.L. group PI Sandy Harrison) pulls together insights from palaeoclimate and palaeoecology to show just how much the past can teach us. From abrupt Dansgaard\u2013Oeschger warming events to the resilience of plant communities under shifting climates, the record of past changes reveals tipping points, feedbacks, and responses that remain directly relevant to conservation and climate science today. The review also involves contributions from group PDRAs Olivia Haas, Mengmeng Liu and Dominic Robson and group associate Esme Cruz-Silva.<\/p>\n

In the latest LEMONTREE project blog, Colin Prentice, an author on the review, unpacks the review\u2019s key messages. This includes why palaeoclimate science has been underused in ecology and policy, to how ancient DNA, fire records, and CO\u2082 reconstructions reshape our understanding of ecosystems. He also tackles common misconceptions (\u201cpast change was always slow\u201d, \u201cdata aren\u2019t good enough\u201d) and explains why collaboration between palaeoscientists, ecologists, and modellers is essential. You can read Colin\u2019s full post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We encourage you to read both the blog delving into this paper as well as the original article itself which can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Harrison, S.P., Bartlein, P.J., Cruz-Silva, E., Haas, O., Jackson, S.T., Kaushal, N., Liu, M., Magri, D., Robson, D.T., Vettoretti, G. & Prentice, I.C. (2025). Paleoclimate perspectives on contemporary climate change. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 50,\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev-environ-112922-110121<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How can the deep past help us understand today\u2019s climate crisis? 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