Tropical ocean-atmosphere interactions have a profound influence on the global climate system. Paleoclimate studies are crucial for investigating the sensitivity of tropical climate to external forcing and the nature of internal variability. New proxy records increase the spatial and temporal resolution of tropical paleoclimate reconstructions and the ability of proxy networks to constrain model simulations, whereas model simulations of past climates enable the exploration of physical mechanisms driving tropical climate changes. Integrating proxy data and numerical models is a powerful tool to test hypotheses on tropical climate dynamics, assess model performance, and guide future data collection and modeling work. This session focuses on the use of tropical proxy records, climate model outputs, and data-model syntheses to investigate the mechanisms of tropical climate change from seasonal to tectonic timescales. Contributions integrating data and models using approaches such as isotope-enabled model simulations, proxy system models, and data assimilation techniques are particularly encouraged.