Launch of new PAGES working group PlioMioVAR

In February 2022, a new working group joins the PAGES family with the title PlioMioVAR: Pliocene and Miocene climate variability over glacial-interglacial timescales

Reconstructions of past major transitions and warm climate states are critical for evaluating future projection under high greenhouse gas forcing. 

This working group aims to build on the success of the PAGES working group Pliocene climate variability over glacial-interglacial timescales (PlioVAR) to include the Miocene and form PlioMioVAR.

The PlioMioVAR working group has three main goals:

1. Maintain the existing PlioVAR database and expand to the Miocene by synthesizing climate records and including age-model quality metadata. This will help identify the Miocene target for data-model comparison (likely the Miocene Climate Optimum) and identify gaps in our current Miocene paleoclimate records (temporal resolution, spatial coverage, proxy confidence);
2. Explore new data-model comparison studies to characterize climate variability including transient model simulations and coupled models with biogeochemistry; and
3. Compare the long-term evolution of Pliocene and Miocene climate and consider forcing mechanisms like tectonic gateways or CO2.

The group will be hosting a workshop which will be organized as a Galileo Conference, sponsored by the NERC UK Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme and EGU from 23-26 August 2022 in Leeds, UK. They aim to host this in-person with virtual options. More information is available here.

PAGES wishes the group much success and looks forward to seeing the results of their work together. 

> Visit the PlioMioVAR webpage 
> Contact the PlioMioVAR leaders 
> Join the PlioMioVAR mailing list 

Image credit: Ras il-Pellegrin outcrop Malta [Mid-Miocene (13.82 Ma)] from Ray Zammit