In attempting to account for long-term palaeo climate variations, we are led to broaden our view of the climate system and to restructure our approach to a fuller theory of climate. In the field of "palaeo climate modelling" there is the potential to bring Earth system modelling and statistical analyses of historical and proxy data together with conceptual models. One goal is to bring specialists from the modelling and archive communities together in order to create an interdisciplinary environment for palaeo climate research. In this respect, modelling of the hydrological cycle with a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) including δ¹⁸O or δD transport and fractionation in the atmosphere is an important task, linking the dynamical system with information buried in proxy archives (e.g., marine sediments and ice cores).

This project is closely linked to glaciological and biogeochemical groups, which analyse the δ¹⁸O or δD variability in their climate archives. The modelling of depositional processes and the build up of climate archives is an important step towards deciphering Earth system development in the past and under climate change conditions.