A new study by Earth Sciences professor Ran Feng explores the North American Monsoon during the Pliocene. Published in AGU Advances, the researchers used a combination of model simulations and proxy reconstructions to better understand how the North American Monsoon responded to this past warm interval. The authors find an intensification of the North American Monsoon during the Pliocene driven by a diminished east Pacific subtropical-tropical temperature gradient. These findings could be important for understanding future hydroclimate changes in the Southwest United States.