Inarticulate past: similarity properties of the ice–climate system and their implications for paleo-record attribution

Abstract. Reconstruction and explanation of past climate evolution using proxy records is the essence of paleoclimatology. In this study, we use dimensional analysis of a dynamical model on orbital timescales to recognize theoretical limits of such forensic inquiries. Specifically, we demonstrate that major past events could have been produced by physically unsimilar processes making the task of paleo-record attribution to a particular phenomenon fundamentally difficult if not impossible. It also means that any future scenario may not have a unique cause and, in this sense, the orbital timescale future may be to some extent less sensitive to specific terrestrial circumstances.