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The mid-Cretaceous period was one of the warmest intervals of the past 140 million years1–5, driven by atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of around 1,000 parts per million by volume6. In the near absence of proximal geological records from south of the Antarctic Circle, it is disputed whether polar ice could exist under such environmental conditions. Here we use a sedimentary sequence recovered from the West Antarctic shelf—the southernmost Cretaceous record reported so far—and show that a temperate lowland rainforest environment existed at a palaeolatitude of about 82° S during the Turonian–Santonian age (92 to 83 million years ago). This record contains an intact 3-metre-long network of in situ fossil roots embedded in a mudstone matrix containing diverse pollen and spores. A climate model simulation shows that the reconstructed temperate climate at this high latitude requires a combination of both atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations of 1,120–1,680 parts per million by volume and a vegetated land surface without major Antarctic glaciation, highlighting the important cooling effect exerted by ice albedo under high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

During the mid‐Piacenzian, Nordic Seas sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were higher than today. While SSTs provide crucial climatic information, on their own they do not allow a reconstruction of potential underlying changes in water masses and currents. A new dinoflagellate cyst record for Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 642 is presented to evaluate changes in northward heat transport via the Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC) between 3.320 and 3.137 Ma. The record is compared with vegetation and SST reconstructions from Site 642 and SSTs from Iceland Sea ODP Site 907 to identify links between SSTs, ocean currents, and vegetation changes. The dinocyst record shows that strong Atlantic water influence via the NwAC corresponds to higher‐than‐present SSTs and cool temperate vegetation during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) transition M2–M1 and KM5. Reduced Atlantic water inflow relative to the warm stages coincides with near‐modern SSTs and boreal vegetation during MIS M2, KM6, and KM4–KM2. During most of the studied interval, a strong SST gradient between Sites 642 and 907 indicates the presence of a proto‐Arctic Front (AF). An absent gradient during the first half of MIS KM6, due to reduced Atlantic water influence at Site 642 and warm, presumably Atlantic water reaching Site 907, is indicative of a weakened NwAC and East Greenland Current. We conclude that repeated changes in Atlantic water influence directly affect terrestrial climate and that an active NwAC is needed for an AF to develop. Obliquity forcing may have played a role, but the correlation is not consistent. At present, northward heat transport via the Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC) is a major reason for the mild climate in Norway. For the warmer‐than‐present late Pliocene (approximately 3.0–3.3 Ma), it is unclear if changes in northward heat transport affected the Norwegian Sea and Scandinavian climate. We analyzed fossil dinoflagellate cysts in Ocean Drilling Program Hole 642B to reconstruct changes in the influence of the NwAC during the late Pliocene. We found that strong NwAC influence and changes in insolation are responsible for warmer‐than‐present climatic conditions in Norway. In contrast, reduced NwAC influence is associated with similar‐to‐present climatic conditions on land. These results highlight that changes in northward heat transport via the NwAC and insolation changes control late Pliocene climate changes in Norway. Late Pliocene marine and terrestrial climate in the Norwegian Sea region is controlled by Norwegian Atlantic Current and obliquity changesWarmer‐than‐present intervals characterized by strong Norwegian Atlantic Current influence and high obliquityDuring colder late Pliocene intervals, oceanic and terrestrial conditions were comparable to the present

The early Eocene (∼56–48 Myr ago) is characterized by high CO2estimates (1,200–2,500 ppmv) and elevated global temperatures (∼10°C–16°C higher than modern). However, the response of the hydrological cycle during the early Eocene is poorly constrained, especially in regions with sparse data coverage (e.g., Africa). Here, we present a study of African hydroclimate during the early Eocene, as simulated by an ensemble of state‐of‐the‐art climate models in the Deep‐time Model Intercomparison Project (DeepMIP). A comparison between the DeepMIP pre‐industrial simulations and modern observations suggests that model biases are model‐ and geographically dependent, however, these biases are reduced in the model ensemble mean. A comparison between the Eocene simulations and the pre‐industrial suggests that there is no obvious wetting or drying trend as the CO2increases. The results suggest that changes to the land sea mask (relative to modern) in the models may be responsible for the simulated increases in precipitation to the north of Eocene Africa. There is an increase in precipitation over equatorial and West Africa and associated drying over northern Africa as CO2rises. There are also important dynamical changes, with evidence that anticyclonic low‐level circulation is replaced by increased south‐westerly flow at high CO2levels. Lastly, a model‐data comparison using newly compiled quantitative climate estimates from paleobotanical proxy data suggests a marginally better fit with the reconstructions at lower levels of CO2. Approximately 50 Myr ago, a period known as the early Eocene, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were significantly higher than today, and were more similar to what they could be in the future, if efforts to reduce human greenhouse gas emissions are unsuccessful. However, rainfall changes during this period are less well understood, especially over data‐sparse regions such as Africa. Here, a collection of state‐of‐the‐art climate models are used to study African rainfall during this period, comparing the simulations first to present‐day African rainfall (to validate the models), second to varying levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and lastly to newly compiled reconstructions of early Eocene rainfall (from plant fossils). The main findings are that although the models can reproduce present‐day rainfall over Africa, and compare reasonably well with the reconstructions, there is no clear rainfall signal when atmospheric carbon dioxide is increased. Nevertheless, the combination of a different continental configuration, vegetation, topography, and atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to changing rainfall patterns, connected to temperature and low‐level wind changes. State‐of‐the‐art climate models are used to study African hydroclimate during the early Eocene (approximately 50 Myr ago)With increasing levels of CO2, there are changes to African precipitation, due to dynamical changes such as low‐level circulationA comparison between the models and newly compiled climate estimates shows a marginally better match at lower levels of CO2 State‐of‐the‐art climate models are used to study African hydroclimate during the early Eocene (approximately 50 Myr ago) With increasing levels of CO2, there are changes to African precipitation, due to dynamical changes such as low‐level circulation A comparison between the models and newly compiled climate estimates shows a marginally better match at lower levels of CO2

Comparing simulations of key warm periods in Earth history with contemporaneous geological proxy data is a useful approach for evaluating the ability of climate models to simulate warm, high-CO2climates that are unprecedented in the more recent past. Here we use a global data set of confidence-assessed, proxy-based temperature estimates and biome reconstructions to assess the ability of eight models to simulate warm terrestrial climates of the Pliocene epoch. The Late Pliocene, 3.6–2.6 million years ago, is an accessible geological interval to understand climate processes of a warmer world. We show that model-predicted surface air temperatures reveal a substantial cold bias in the Northern Hemisphere. Particularly strong data–model mismatches in mean annual temperatures (up to 18 °C) exist in northern Russia. Our model sensitivity tests identify insufficient temporal constraints hampering the accurate configuration of model boundary conditions as an important factor impacting on data–model discrepancies. We conclude that to allow a more robust evaluation of the ability of present climate models to predict warm climates, future Pliocene data–model comparison studies should focus on orbitally defined time slices.