This paper examines the oxygen isotope data in several deep-sea cores. The question addressed is whether those data support an inference that the abyssal ocean in the Last Glacial Maximum period was significantly colder than it is today. Along with a separate analysis of salinity data in the same cores, it is concluded that a cold, saline deep ocean is consistent with the available data but so is an abyss much more like that found today. LGM model testers should beware.

We present C-Scan, a new Scots pine tree-ring density based reconstruction of warm-season (April-September) temperatures for central Scandinavia back to 850 CE, extending the previous reconstruction by 250 years. Our reconstruction indicates that the warm-season warmth during a relatively-warm period of last millennium is not so pronounced in central Scandinavia, which adds further detail to our knowledge about the spatial pattern of surface air temperature on the regional scale.

The Last Interglacial was warmer, with a reduced Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), compared to the late Holocene. We analyse – through climate model simulations – the impact of a reduced GIS on the global surface air temperature and find a relatively strong warming especially in the Northern Hemisphere. These results are then compared to temperature reconstructions, indicating good agreement with respect to the pattern. However, the simulated temperatures underestimate the proxy-based temperatures.

The paper deals with climatic and human impacts of the strong Tambora (Indonesia) volcanic eruption in April 1815 over the Czech Lands territory based on analysis of documentary data and instrumental records. While climatic effects were related particularly to summers 1815 and 1816 (1816 is known as "a Year Without Summer"), quite important were societal impacts represented after bad harvest by steep increase in prices and shortages of food.

We present a data assimilation algorithm that incorporates proxy data at arbitrary timescales. Within a synthetic-test framework, we find that atmosphere–ocean states are most skillfully reconstructed by incorporating proxies across multiple timescales compared to using them at short or long timescales alone. Additionally, reconstructions that incorporate long-timescale proxies improve the low-frequency components of the reconstructions relative to using only high-resolution proxies.

Amongst the most devastating marine catastrophes that can occur in coastal areas are storms and tsunamis, which may seriously endanger human society. In a sediment core from the Mar Menor (SE Spain), we discovered eight coarse-grained layers which document marine incursions during periods of intense storm activity or tsunami events. These periods of surge events seem to coincide with the coldest periods in Europe during the late Holocene, suggesting a control by a climatic mechanism.

We use an isotope-equipped GCM and develop original theoretical expression for the precipitation composition to assess δ¹⁸O of paleo-precipitation changes with the Tibetan Plateau uplift. We show that δ¹⁸O of precipitation is very sensitive to climate changes related to the growth of mountains, notably changes in relative humidity and precipitation amount. Topography is shown to be not an exclusive controlling factor δ¹⁸O in precipitation that have crucial consequences for paleoelevation studies