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Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Workshop; Reston, Virginia, 2–4 August 2011 The Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP), supported by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) project and Powell Center, is an integral part of a third iteration of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP3). PlioMIP's aim is to systematically compare structurally different climate models. This is done in the context of the mid-Pliocene (∼3.3–3.0 million years ago), a geological interval when the global annual mean temperature was similar to predictions for the next century.

Future warming projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has the potential to affect every person on Earth. Extreme weather events, rising sea level, and migrating ecosystems and resources may result in socioeconomic stresses. Although we can plan and prepare for what is expected, the most dangerous aspect of our changing climate is the uncertainty in climate sensitivity. To reduce the uncertainties of climate change, paleoclimatologists are focusing on a possible yet imperfect analog to a future warmer climate.