Abstract
The Pliocene epoch (5.3–2.6 Ma) generates continued debate as an example of a warm climate with external forcing similar to the present day. O'Brien et al. presented new multi-proxy sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions from the South China Sea, adding to this debate. Based on their records, and a hypothesized seawater chemistry adjustment to temperature reconstructions previously derived from the Mg/Ca ratios of planktonic foraminifera, they suggest that the western Pacific warm pool was “2 °C warmer than today” in the Pliocene. This contradicts previous evidence of long-term stability in warm pool SSTs, but possibly reconciles temperature reconstructions and climate model simulations. Here we raise several points contrary to those conclusions.
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