Hilary H. Birks, J. John Lowe, Hans Renssen, Paul J. Valdes, Achim Brauer, Sune Olander Rasmussen, Irka Hajdas, Simon Blockley, Wim Z. Hoek, Ana Moreno, Michael Walker, Anders Svensson, Didier M. Roche, Geomorfologie, Coastal dynamics, Fluvial systems and Global change, Earth and Climate, Amsterdam Global Change Institute, Niels Bohr Institute [Copenhagen] (NBI), Faculty of Science [Copenhagen], University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR), Department of Biological Sciences [Bergen] (BIO / UiB), University of Bergen (UiB)-University of Bergen (UiB), University of London [London], German Research Centre for Geosciences - Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam (GFZ), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), Department of Physical Geography [Utrecht], Utrecht University [Utrecht], Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences [Amsterdam] (FALW), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (VU), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette] (LSCE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Modélisation du climat (CLIM), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), University of Bristol [Bristol], University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), Department of Geography and Earth Sciences (DGES), Aberystwyth University, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Since 2010, the INTIMATE (INTegration of Ice-core, MArine and TErrestrial records) network has been operating as a COST Action (designated ES0907). This paper outlines the accomplishments of the INTIMATE COST Action in the context of how the INTIMATE ideas have evolved during the network's twenty-year life span, and highlights a number of challenges that can guide further work. In the second part of the paper, the contributions that comprise this INTIMATE special issue are introduced., This study is a contribution to the INTIMATE project, supported by INQUA (INQUA Focus Group & project 1210F) and funded as the EU COST Action ES0907. We gratefully acknowledge Chris Turney for his dedicated efforts in obtaining the COST funding. We thank the countless individuals who have organised meetings, workshops, and training schools, who have hosted research exchange visits, and have otherwise contributed to the fruitful and engaging collaborative atmosphere within the network. We thank the Action's administrative and scientific officers at the COST office in Brussels, and Karin Norris and Louise Thers Nielsen at the EU office at University of Copenhagen for their essential contributions to the efficient management of the project. We thank Prof. Colin Murray-Wallace, Editor-in-Chief of Quaternary Science Reviews, and Journal Manager Debbie Barrett and the staff at Elsevier for their assistance with the editing and production of this special issue. Finally, we gratefully acknowledge the huge effort provided by the colleagues who agreed to review the papers of the issue.