This is the first of a series of workshops under the umbrella of the PAGES Working Group - Past Interglacials (PIGS). PIGS seeks to co-ordinate research and promote international co-operation on specifically-targeted interglacials and inter-interglacial comparisons. The aim is to gain fundamental insights into the sensitivity of the Earth System to different scales of forcing.
Research foci include:
(i) the absolute timing and the duration of specific interglacials
(ii) the nature and magnitude of the climate response in the marine, terrestrial and atmospheric parts of the Earth system, including spatial and temporal patterns and the presence of stability or instability
(iii) the operation of the carbon cycle in marine, terrestrial and atmospheric realms
(iv) the integration of the palaeo-data with modelling studies
This workshop will focus on inter-interglacial comparisons (forcing, duration, responses) over the last 800 kyr and assess the current state of knowledge. The intention is to identify intervals of particular interest that will become the specific focus of subsequent workshops.