Two new research papers, co-authored by PCC participants, show that temperatures in East Antarctica and other locations in the South Pole during the last ice age were several degrees warmer than previously thought. Research previously asserted that during the last ice age temperatures in Antarctica were an average of 9° C below modern values. However, that data did not match estimates from climate models and lacked calibration. The new research resolves these issues. Papers co-authored by TJ Fudge (UW ESS),  Eric Steig (UW ESS and current PCC Governing Board member), Emma Kahle a recent graduate of UW ESS, and Edwin Waddington (UW ESS), along with many other national and international partners used data from borehole thermometry, snowpack accumulation, and the South Pole Ice Core project to show that temperatures across Antarctica were 4-6° C cooler than today. Both studies reconcile observed data with climate model estimations, support the legitimacy of using models to reproduce climatic shifts, and help explain how the Antarctic responds to large-scale changes in climate.