In recent years, the development of new proxies, approaches and data interpretation techniques has significantly improved the possibilities and accuracy of reconstructing past environments from geological records. Hand-in-hand with this progress a rapid increase in the number of climate simulations is available from a broad range of General Circulation Models (GCM) which contributes to a much better understanding of future and past climate change. Although highly complex, climate models still represent a simplification of the real world and their performance and reliability have to be validated using proxy data from past climate records. Bringing together the two groups of “data collectors” and modellers and facilitating their interaction is the major aim of this book on deep-time perspectives on climate change. The high-quality printed book, nearly 600 pages thick, unites climate modelling, palaeoceanography and palaeontology to address fundamental events in the climate history of the Earth over the past 600 million years. However, the vast majority of the 26 peer-reviewed articles are related to the last 70 million years, clearly reflecting how data availability and our knowledge about the Earth System decreases the further back we go along the geological time scale.

The book focuses on different aspects of palaeoenvironmental science such as proxy methods, the controlling mechanisms of climate change, extreme climate modes and climate transitions. Most contributions are written in a review-style, which makes this book a valuable source for up-to-date literature search and global palaeo-data syntheses. Examples of such very useful literature and data compilations are a comprehensive review of Phanerozoic climate modes, controls and geological proxies by Vaughan, a review of the Early Permian fossil record of Gondwana by Stephenson et al. and a discussion of the role of marine organic carbon reservoirs during the Early Palaeozoic Icehouse by Page et al. Price & Grimes and Hart bring together terrestrial and marine geological records documenting Late Cretaceous climate variability. For the Neogene, Dowsett presents a summary of Pliocene global sea surface datasets, whereas Fauquette et al. and Jiminez-Moreneo et al. provide a more regional compilation of Miocene and Pliocene vegetation data for the Mediterranean. A meaningful discussion on the potential use and application of selected palaeoceanographic proxies in reconstructing past sea surface conditions can be found in Lawrence et al. (alkenones), Kucera & Schoenfeld (foraminifera), and Lear (Mg/Ca palaeothermometry).

Many contributions in this book concentrate on geological transitions or climate extremes and discuss their controlling mechanisms. Vannier describes the Early Cambrian origin of complex marine ecosystems and the role of ecosystem-build-up processes versus non-biological factors. Armstrong compares Cenozoic and Ordovician glaciation and proposes a unified theory, which rejects the axiom that Ordovician glaciation was unique in Earth History. Twitchett discusses triggers for mass extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary and critically reviews the runaway greenhouse model. The termination of the Mesozoic, characterized by another mass extinction at the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary, is surprisingly not the subject matter of a separate contribution in this book. Cenozoic changes from greenhouse to icehouse climate conditions are presented in a considerable detail. Unfortunately, most Paleogene to Neogene contributions focus on palaeoceanographic proxies only, whereas compilations of terrestrial palaeobiological datasets are mostly restricted to the Mediterranean. Sluis et al. and Coxall & Pearson, respectively, present a thorough and well-written review of available data and hypotheses regarding the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum and Eocene–Oligocene greenhouse to icehouse transition. The Oligocene–Miocene boundary is characterized by a shift toward cooler climates and Pfuhl & McCave discuss the importance of opening of seaways and the inception of a full Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The Miocene was a critical time of palaeoceanographic reorganization in which the closure of the Panama Isthmus played a key role. Schmidt reviews causes and consequences of the closure of the Central American seaway and provides a comprehensive compilation of both marine and terrestrial proxy data. The book ends with a paper by Ravelo et al. reviewing marine proxy evidence for Northern Hemipshere glaciation and the role of a shoaling thermocline as a critical threshold.

The book is a very successful attempt to marry the signal from computer models and biological proxies. However, it also gives the impression that in deep-time palaeoenvironmental science, climate modelling is clearly the weaker partner in this young marriage. Only about five articles of the book have a clear focus on climate simulations and data-model comparisons, whereas many contributions of “data collectors” only marginally refer to climate models. Deep time modelling is a challenging task, as the number of proxy data for boundary conditions strongly decreases with geological age. Therefore, in contrast to the Quaternary, the number of “deep-time” modellers is rather limited. Sohl & Chandler provide a challenging and careful combined data/model approach to simulate Neoproterozoic palaeoclimate. Kiehl describes opportunities and limitations of computer models simulating Late Palaeozoic palaeoclimates. Haywood et al. give a comprehensive overview on their mid-Pliocene climate modelling exercises, which clearly demonstrates the rapid progress in deep-time modelling and data-model comparison techniques in recent years. Markwick gives impressive examples of how biological proxy data can be processed and synthesized in a Geographical Information System to define climate boundary conditions and facilitate data-model comparisons. Hill et al. presents not only a new Pliocene model of the mid-Pliocene East Antarctic Ice Sheet, but also a thorough data-model comparison for Polar Regions.

In conclusion I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting a comprehensive overview of deep-time palaeoenvironments and climate modelling. The book is very useful for “data collectors” who need an update or summary on state-of-the-art deep time geology and also to modellers for whom it provides a rich source of data to validate and test their simulations. Given the differences in scientific approaches, languages and techniques, the liaison between “data collectors” and modellers represent a major challenge for both scientific communities. Despite these difficulties the editors succeeded in producing a coherent and valuable publication, which is a promising start to a hopefully happy and long-lasting relationship.