The goal of our study was to gain an estimate of the variability of ocean-related climate processes driven by insolation forcing over a realistic precessional cycle in an Eocene greenhouse world. Between endmembers of a precessional cycle mean annual sea surface temperatures (SSTs) vary by up to 5 ¿C at high northern latitudes, with minimal tropical SST response. Extratropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Tethys Oceans show up to a two-fold variation in upwelling strength, while oceanic regions adjacent to northwestern Africa, India, and South America exhibit little oceanic upwelling variability. The response of ocean surface moisture balance to the forcing is greatest in the tropics, varying by as much as 60%. Continental runoff varies by up to a factor of two in some regions. These results may be useful in identifying locations with maximum likelihood of future recovery of orbital cyclicity in deep-sea sediments. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union