Palaeoclimatic Research and Models

Palaeoclimatology is presently experiencing a period of rapid growth of techniques and concepts. Studies of earth''s past climates ryrovide excellent opportunities to examine the interactions between the atmosrhere, oceans, cryosphere and the land surfaces. Thus, there is a growing recognition of the need of close collaboration between palaeoclimatologists and the climate mode 11 ers. The workshop "Palaeoclimatic Research and Models (PRaM)" was organized by the Directorate General for Science, Research and Development within the framework of the Climatology Research Programme of the Commission of the European Communities (CEC). The aim of the workshop was to give to the members of the Contact Group "Climate Models" and "Reconstitution of Past Climates" of the CEC Climatology Research Program~e and to some invited scientists the opportunity to discuss problems of mutual interest. About 35 experts fr.om 10 countries took nart in the workshop. In general, palaeoclimatologists were asked to identify and discuss the data corresponding to the three topics as defined by the programme committee: 1) Abrupt Climate Changes 2) Initiation of Glaciation 3) Glaciated polar regions and their impact on global climate. Climate modellers were asked to give their views as to how these specific problems could be modelled, what use could be ~ade of the available palaeoclimatic data and which complementary data are needed for modelling.