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Abstract. The mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP, 3.3–3.0 Ma) was characterised by an atmospheric CO2 concentration exceeding 400 ppmv with minor changes in continental and orbital configurations. Simulations of this past climate state have improved with newer models but still show some substantial differences from proxy reconstructions. There is little information about atmospheric aerosol concentrations during the Pliocene, but previous work suggests that it could have been quite different from the modern period. Here we apply idealised aerosol scenario experiments to examine the importance of aerosol forcing on mPWP tropical precipitation and the possibility of aerosol uncertainty explaining the mismatch between reconstructions and simulations. The absence of industrial pollutants leads to further warming, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) becomes narrower and stronger and shifts northward after removal of anthropogenic aerosols. Though not affecting the location of monsoon domain boundary, removal of anthropogenic aerosol alters the amount of rainfall within the domain, increasing summer rain rate over eastern and southern Asia and western Africa. This work demonstrates that uncertainty in aerosol forcing could be the dominant driver in tropical precipitation changes during the mid-Pliocene: causing larger impacts than the changes in topography and greenhouse gases. 

Abstract. Palaeoclimate simulations improve our understanding ofthe climate, inform us about the performance of climate models in adifferent climate scenario, and help to identify robust features of theclimate system. Here, we analyse Arctic warming in an ensemble of 16simulations of the mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP), derived from thePliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2). The PlioMIP2 ensemble simulates Arctic (60–90∘ N) annual meansurface air temperature (SAT) increases of 3.7 to 11.6 ∘Ccompared to the pre-industrial period, with a multi-model mean (MMM) increase of7.2 ∘C. The Arctic warming amplification ratio relative to globalSAT anomalies in the ensemble ranges from 1.8 to 3.1 (MMM is 2.3). Sea iceextent anomalies range from −3.0 to -10.4×106 km2, with a MMManomaly of -5.6×106 km2, which constitutes a decrease of 53 %compared to the pre-industrial period. The majority (11 out of 16) of models simulatesummer sea-ice-free conditions (≤1×106 km2) in their mPWPsimulation. The ensemble tends to underestimate SAT in the Arctic whencompared to available reconstructions, although the degree of underestimationvaries strongly between the simulations. The simulations with the highestArctic SAT anomalies tend to match the proxy dataset in its current formbetter. The ensemble shows some agreement with reconstructions of sea ice,particularly with regard to seasonal sea ice. Large uncertainties limit theconfidence that can be placed in the findings and the compatibility of thedifferent proxy datasets. We show that while reducing uncertainties in thereconstructions could decrease the SAT data–model discord substantially,further improvements are likely to be found in enhanced boundary conditionsor model physics. Lastly, we compare the Arctic warming in the mPWP toprojections of future Arctic warming and find that the PlioMIP2 ensemblesimulates greater Arctic amplification than CMIP5 future climate simulationsand an increase instead of a decrease in Atlantic Meridional OverturningCirculation (AMOC) strength compared topre-industrial period. The results highlight the importance of slow feedbacks inequilibrium climate simulations, and that caution must be taken when usingsimulations of the mPWP as an analogue for future climate change.