Three highly resolved pollen and sea surface temperature records from the Iberian margin (36-42 degrees N) reveal the local evolution of vegetation and climate associated with the rapid climatic variability of marine isotope stage 3. The comparison of the climate at these midlatitudes with delta D and d excess from Greenland ice cores shows that the north-south climatic gradient underwent strong variations during the long Greenland Interstadials (GIs) 8 and 12. After the Northern Hemispheric rapid warming at the Greenland Stadial (GS)-GI transition, the trend during the first part of the GI is a Greenland cooling and an Iberian warming. This increase of the North Atlantic climatic gradient led to moisture transportation to Greenland from midlatitudes (lightest d excess) and to a drying episode in Iberia. The subsequent temperature decrease in Greenland and Iberia associated with the precipitation increase in the latter region occurred when the major source of Greenland precipitation shifted to lower latitudes (d excess increase).