The climate of the last glacial period was frequently interrupted by rapid warming events, the cause of which is still unknown. One open question is whether the occurrence of events is random or externally controlled. We studied the temporal characteristics of warm and cold phases using statistical null models and find that they are well described as random processes modulated by two different external climate factors. This may help distinguish physical mechanisms for rapid climate change.

We explain the procedure used to attain a high and consistent level of data stewardship across a special issue of the journal Climate of the Past. We discuss the challenges related to (1) determining which data are essential for public archival, (2) using data generated by others, and (3) understanding data citations. We anticipate that open-data sharing in paleo sciences will accelerate as the advantages become more evident and as practices that reduce data loss become the accepted convention.

Palaeoclimate reconstructions from deep-sea sediment archives provide valuable insight into past rapid climate change, but only a small proportion of the ocean is suitable for such reconstructions using the existing state of the art, i.e. the age-depth approach. We use dual radiocarbon (¹⁴C) and stable isotope analysis on single foraminifera to bypass the long-standing age-depth approach, thus facilitating past ocean chemistry reconstructions from vast, previously untapped ocean areas.

This work reconstructs a continuous 305-year rainfall record for Ireland. The series reveals remarkable variability in decadal rainfall – far in excess of the typical period of digitised data. Notably, the series sheds light on exceptionally wet winters in the 1730s and wet summers in the 1750s. The derived record, one of the longest continuous series in Europe, offers a firm basis for benchmarking other long-term records and reconstructions of past climate both locally and across Europe.

Ice cores reveal that atmospheric CO₂ concentration varied synchronously with the global ice volume. Explaining the mechanism of glacial–interglacial variations of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and the link between CO₂ and ice sheets evolution still remains a challenge. Here using the Earth system model of intermediate complexity we performed for the first time simulations of co-evolution of climate, ice sheets and carbon cycle using the astronomical forcing as the only external forcing.