Collaborative Research: Investigation of Climate Warmth andClimate Change in the Early Eocene

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The Eocene period of earth history was warmer and had lower pole-to-equator thermal gradients than today. Preliminary modeling results suggest that the only way to achieve this type of climate is with greater CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and with higher poleward heat transport. Thus this interval in earth history may provide important constraints on the effects of future CO2 increases in the atmosphere. This proposal requests support to constrain the effects of higher CO2 and heat transport on this climate using sophisticated General Circulation Model experiments and new paleoclimate data. This research is important because it will help to isolate the effects of higher CO2 on climate, a topic which is very important for understanding the effects of fossil fuel CO2 on future climate.