1. Forster, A., Schouten, S., Baas, M. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. Mid-Cretaceous (Albian–Santonian) sea surface temperature record of the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Geology 35, 919–922 (2007).

2. Forster, A. et al. Tropical warming and intermittent cooling during the Cenomanian/Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE 2): sea surface temperature records from the equatorial Atlantic. Paleoceanography 22, PA1219 (2007).

3. Tarduno, J. A. et al. Evidence for extreme climatic warmth from late Cretaceous Arctic vertebrates. Science 282, 2241–2243 (1998).

4. O’Brien, C. L. et al. Cretaceous sea-surface temperature evolution: constraints from TEX 86 and planktonic foraminiferal oxygen isotopes. Earth Sci. Rev. 172, 224–247 (2017).

5. Niezgodzki, I. et al. Late Cretaceous climate simulations with different CO 2 levels and subarctic gateway configurations: a model-data comparison. Paleoceanography 32, 980–998 (2017).

6. Foster, G. L., Royer, D. L. & Lunt, D. J. Future climate forcing potentially without precedent in the last 420 million years. Nat. Commun. 8, 14845 (2017).

7. O’Connor, L. K. et al. Late Cretaceous temperature evolution of the southern high latitudes: a TEX 86 perspective. Paleoceanogr. Paleoclimatol. 34, 436–454 (2019).

8. Jenkyns, H. C., Forster, A., Schouten, S. & Sinninghe Damsté, S. High temperatures in the Late Cretaceous Arctic Ocean. Nature 432, 888–892 (2004).

9. Ditchfield, P. W., Marshall, J. D. & Pirrie, D. High latitude palaeotemperature variation: new data from the Tithonian to Eocene of James Ross Island, Antarctica. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 107, 79–101 (1994).

10. Bornemann, A. et al. Isotopic evidence for glaciation during the Cretaceous supergreenhouse. Science 319, 189–192 (2008).

11. Müller, R. D. et al. Long-term sea-level fluctuations driven by ocean basin dynamics. Science 319, 1357–1362 (2008).

12. Miller, K. G. et al. The Phanerozoic record of global sea-level change. Science 310, 1293–1298 (2005).

13. Mcphail, M. K. & Truswell, E. M. Palynology of Site 1166, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. In Proc. ODP Sci. Res. Vol. 188 (eds Cooper, A. K., O’Brien, P. E. & Richter, C.) 1–43 (Ocean Drilling Program, 2004).

14. Mays, C., Steinthorsdottir, M. & Stilwell, J. D. Climatic implications of Ginkgoites waarrensis Douglas emend. from the south polar Tupuangi flora, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), Chatham Islands. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 438, 308–326 (2015).

15. Pujana, R. R., Raffi, M. E. & Olivero, E. B. Conifer fossil woods from the Santa Marta Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Brandy Bay, James Ross Island, Antarctica. Cretac. Res. 77, 28–38 (2017).

16. Manfroi, J. et al. The first report of a Campanian palaeo-wildfire in the West Antarctic Peninsula. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 418, 12–18 (2015).

17. Falcon-Lang, H. J., Cantrill, D. J. & Nichols, G. J. Biodiversity and terrestrial ecology of a mid-Cretaceous, high-latitude floodplain, Alexander Island, Antarctica. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 158, 709–724 (2001).

18. Wang, Y. et al. Paleo-CO 2 variation trends and the Cretaceous greenhouse climate. Earth Sci. Rev. 129, 136–147 (2014).

19. Huber, B. T., MacLeod, K. G., Watkins, D. K. & Coffin, M. F. The rise and fall of the Cretaceous Hot Greenhouse climate. Glob. Planet. Change 167, 1–23 (2018).

20. Gohl, K. et al. MeBo70 seabed drilling on a polar continental shelf: operational report and lessons from drilling in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 18, 4235–4250 (2017).

21. Lowe, A. L. & Anderson, J. B. Reconstruction of the West Antarctic ice sheet in Pine Island Bay during the Last Glacial Maximum and its subsequent retreat history. Quat. Sci. Rev. 21, 1879–1897 (2002).

22. Spiegel, C. et al. Tectonomorphic evolution of Marie Byrd Land—implications for Cenozoic rifting activity and onset of West Antarctic glaciation. Glob. Planet. Change 145, 98–115 (2016).

23. Larter, R. D. et al. Reconstruction of changes in the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quat. Sci. Rev. 100, 55–86 (2014).

24. Gohl, K. et al. Seismic stratigraphic record of the Amundsen Sea Embayment shelf from pre-glacial to recent times: Evidence for a dynamic West Antarctic ice sheet. Mar. Geol. 344, 115–131 (2013).

25. Freudenthal, T. & Wefer, G. Drilling cores on the sea floor with the remote-controlled sea floor drilling rig MeBo. Geosci. Instrum. Methods Data Syst. 2, 329–337 (2013).

26. Crampton, J. S. et al. in The New Zealand Geological Timescale Monograph 22 (ed. Cooper, R. A.) 103–122 (Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, 2004).

27. Mays, C. & Stilwell, J. D. Pollen and spore biostratigraphy of the mid-Cretaceous Tupuangi Formation, Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 192, 79–102 (2013).

28. Mildenhall, D. C. Palynological Reconnaissance of Early Cretaceous to Holocene Sediments, Chatham Islands, New Zealand Monograph 7 (Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, 1994).

29. He, T., Lamont, B. B. & Fogliani, B. Pre-Gondwanan-breakup origin of Beauprea (Proteaceae) explains its historical presence in New Caledonia and New Zealand. Sci. Adv. 2, e1501648 (2016).

30. Gee, J. & Kent, D. in Treatise on Geophysics Vol. 5 (ed. Kono, M.) Ch. 5.12 (Elsevier, 2007).

31. Wobbe, F., Gohl, K., Chambord, A. & Sutherland, R. Structure and breakup history of the rifted margin of West Antarctica in relation to Cretaceous separation from Zealandia and Bellingshausen plate motion. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 13, Q04W12 (2012).

32. Jordan, T. A., Riley, T. R. & Siddoway, C. S. The geological history and evolution of West Antarctica. Nat. Rev. Earth Environ. 1, 117–133 (2020).

33. Müller, R. D. et al. GPlates: building a virtual Earth through deep time. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 19, 2243–2261 (2018).

34. DiVenere, V. J., Kent, D. V. & Dalziel, I. W. D. Mid-Cretaceous paleomagnetic results from Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica: a test of post-100 Ma relative motion between East and West Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. 99 (B8), 15115–15139 (1994).

35. Pocknall, D. T. & Crosbie, Y. M. Pollen morphology of Beauprea (Proteaceae): modern and fossil. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 53, 305–327 (1988).

36. Jackson, M. B. & Armstrong, W. Formation of aerenchyma and the processes of plant ventilation in relation to soil flooding and submergence. Plant Biol. 1, 274–287 (1999).

37. Lijmbach, G. W. M. On the origin of petroleum. In Proc. 9th World Petroleum Congress Vol. 2, 357–369 (World Petroleum Congress, 1975).

38. Peters, K. E., Walters, C. C. & Moldowan, J. M. The Biomarker Guide (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004).

39. Meyers, P. A. Applications of organic geochemistry to paleolimnological reconstructions: a summary of examples from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Org. Geochem. 34, 261–289 (2003).

40. Robert, C. & Kennett, J. P. Antarctic subtropical humid episode at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary: clay-mineral evidence. Geology 22, 211–214 (1994).

41. Huang, W. H. & Keller, W. D. Dissolution of rock-forming silicate minerals in organic acids: simulated first-stage weathering of fresh mineral surfaces. Am. Mineral. 55, 2076–2094 (1970).

42. Sugden, D. E. & Jamieson, S. S. R. The pre-glacial landscape of Antarctica. Scott. Geogr. J. 134, 203–223 (2018).

43. Uenzelmann-Neben, G. & Gohl, K. Early glaciation already during the Early Miocene in the Amundsen Sea, Southern Pacific: indications from the distribution of sedimentary sequences. Glob. Planet. Change 120, 92–104 (2014).

44. Zundel, M. et al. Thurston Island (West Antarctica) between Gondwana subduction and continental separation: A multistage evolution revealed by apatite thermochronology. Tectonics 38, 878–897 (2019).

45. Müller, R. D., Gohl, K., Cande, S. C., Goncharov, A. & Golynsky, A. V. Eocene to Miocene geometry of the West Antarctic rift system. Aust. J. Earth Sci. 54, 1033–1045 (2007).

46. Harbert, R. S. & Nixon, K. C. Climate reconstruction analysis using coexistence likelihood estimation (CRACLE): a method for the estimation of climate using vegetation. Am. J. Bot. 102, 1277–1289 (2015).

47. Poole, I., Cantrill, D. J. & Utescher, T. Reconstructing Antarctic palaeoclimate from wood floras: a comparison using multivariate anatomical analysis and the coexistence approach. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 222, 95–121 (2005).

48. Francis, J. E. et al. 100 million years of Antarctic climate evolution: evidence from fossil plants. In Proc. 10th Int. Symp. on Antarctic Earth Sciences (eds Cooper, A. K. et al.) 19–27 (National Academies, 2007).

49. Bauersachs, T., Rochelmeier, J. & Schwark, L. Seasonal lake surface water temperature trends reflected by heterocyst glycolipid-based molecular thermometers. Biogeosciences 12, 3741–3751 (2015).

50. Ladant, J. L. & Donnadieu, Y. Paleogeographic regulation of glacial events during the Cretaceous supergreenhouse. Nat. Commun. 7, 12771 (2016).

51. Upchurch, G. R., Jr, Kiehl, J., Shields, C., Scherer, J. & Scotese, C. Latitudinal temperature gradients and high-latitude temperatures during the latest Cretaceous: congruence of geologic data and climate models. Geology 43, 683–686 (2015).

52. Farnsworth, A. et al. Climate sensitivity on geological timescales controlled by non-linear feedbacks and ocean circulation. Geophys. Res. Lett. 46, 9880–9889 (2019).

53. IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (eds Pörtner, H. O. et al.) (IPCC, 2019); https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/3/2019/12/SROCC_FullReport_FINAL.pdf

54. Arndt, J. E. et al. A new bathymetric compilation covering circum-Antarctic waters. Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 3111–3117 (2013).

55. Fretwell, P. et al. Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica. Cryosphere 7, 375–393 (2013).

56. Stalling, D., Westerhoff, M. & Hege, H.-C. in The Visualization Handbook (eds Hansen, C. D. & Johnson, C. R.) 749–767 (Elsevier, 2005).

57. Raine, J. I., Mildenhall, D. C. & Kennedy, E. M. New Zealand Fossil Spores and Pollen: An Illustrated Catalogue 4th edn Science Miscellaneous Series Vol. 4 (GNS, 2011); http://data.gns.cri.nz/sporepollen/index.htm

58. Mays, C. A late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) south polar palynoflora from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Mem. Assoc. Aust. Palaeontol. 47, 92 (2015).

59. Bowman, V. C., Francis, J. E., Askin, R. A., Riding, J. B. & Swindles, G. T. Latest Cretaceous-earliest Paleogene vegetation and climate change at the high southern latitudes: palynological evidence from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 408, 26–47 (2014).

60. Utescher, T. et al. The coexistence approach—theoretical background and practical considerations of using plant fossils for climate quantification. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 410, 58–73 (2014).

61. Ballantyne, A. P. et al. Significantly warmer Arctic surface temperatures during the Pliocene indicated by multiple independent proxies. Geology 38, 603–606 (2010).

62. Uhl, D., Mosbrugger, V., Bruch, A. & Utescher, T. Reconstructing palaeotemperatures using leaf floras-case studies for a comparison of leaf margin analysis and the coexistence approach. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 126, 49–64 (2003).

63. Pound, M. J. & Salzmann, U. Heterogeneity in global vegetation and terrestrial climate change during the late Eocene to early Oligocene transition. Sci. Rep. 7, 43386 (2017).

64. Pross, J. et al. Persistent near-tropical warmth on the Antarctic continent during the early Eocene epoch. Nature 488, 73–77 (2012).

65. Willard, D. A. et al. Arctic vegetation, temperature, and hydrology during Early Eocene transient global warming events. Glob. Planet. Change 178, 139–152 (2019).

66. Kennedy, E. M. Late Cretaceous and Paleocene terrestrial climates of New Zealand: leaf fossil evidence from South Island assemblages. N. Z. J. Geol. Geophys. 46, 295–306 (2003).

67. Kennedy, E. M. et al. Deriving temperature estimates from southern hemisphere leaves. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 412, 80–90 (2014).

68. Grimm, G. W., Bouchal, J. M., Denk, T. & Potts, A. Fables and foibles: a critical analysis of the Palaeoflora database and the coexistence approach for palaeoclimate reconstruction. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 233, 216–235 (2016).

69. Hollis, C. J. et al. The DeepMIP contribution to PMIP4: methodologies for selection, compilation and analysis of latest Paleocene and early Eocene climate proxy data, incorporating version 0.1 of the DeepMIP database. Geosci. Model Dev. 12, 3149–3206 (2019).

70. Kühl, N., Gebhardt, C., Litt, T. & Hense, A. Probability density functions as botanical-climatological transfer functions for climate reconstruction. Quat. Res. 58, 381–392 (2002).

71. Greenwood, D. R., Keefe, R. L., Reichgelt, T. & Webb, J. A. Eocene paleobotanical altimetry of Victoria’s Eastern Uplands. Aust. J. Earth Sci. 64, 625–637 (2017).

72. What is GBIF? (GBIF, 2019); https://www.gbif.org/what-is-gbif

73. Fick, S. E. & Hijmans, R. J. WorldClim 2: new 1-km spatial resolution climate surfaces for global land areas. Int. J. Climatol. 37, 4302–4315 (2017).

74. Hijmans, R. J., Phillips, S., Leathwick, J. & Elith, J. dismo: Species Distribution Modeling R package version 1. 1-4 (2017); http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/dismo/index.html

75. Reichgelt, T., West, C. K. & Greenwood, D. R. The relation between global palm distribution and climate. Sci. Rep. 8, 4721 (2018).

76. Bourbonniere, R. A. & Meyers, P. A. Sedimentary geolipid records of historical changes in the watersheds and productivities of Lakes Ontario and Erie. Limnol. Oceanogr. 41, 352–359 (1996).

77. Rütters, H., Sass, H., Cypionka, H. & Rullkötter, J. Phospholipid analysis as a toll to study complex microbial communities in marine sediments. J. Microbiol. Methods 48, 149–160 (2002).

78. Bauersachs, T., Talbot, H. M., Sidgwick, F., Sivonen, K. & Schwark, L. Lipid biomarker signatures as tracers for harmful cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea. PLoS ONE 12, (2017).

79. Bauersachs, T. et al. Rapid analysis of long-chain glycolipids in heterocystous cyanobacteria using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 23, 1387–1394 (2009).

80. Bauersachs, T. et al. Distribution of long chain heterocyst glycolipids in cultures of the thermophilic cyanobacterium Mastigocladus laminosus and a hot spring microbial mat. Org. Geochem. 56, 19–24 (2013).

81. Wörmer, L. et al. Cyanobacterial heterocyst glycolipids in cultures and environmental samples: diversity and biomarker potential. Limnol. Oceanogr. 57, 1775–1788 (2012).

82. Schouten, S. et al. Endosymbiotic heterocystous cyanobacteria synthesize different heterocyst glycolipids than free-living heterocyst cyanobacteria. Phytochemistry 85, 115–121 (2013).

83. Bale, N. J. et al. A novel heterocyst glycolipid detected in a pelagic N 2 -fixing cyanobacterium of the genus Calothrix. Org. Geochem. 123, 44–47 (2018).

84. Bauersachs, T. et al. Heterocyte glycolipids indicate polyphyly of stigonematalean cyanobacteria. Phytochemistry 166, (2019).

85. Ehrmann, W. et al. Provenance changes between recent and glacial-time sediments in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica: clay mineral assemblage evidence. Antarct. Sci. 23, 471–486 (2011).

86. Petschick, R., Kuhn, G. & Gingele, F. Clay mineral distribution in surface sediments of the South Atlantic: sources, transport, and relation to oceanography. Mar. Geol. 130, 203–229 (1996).

87. Kirschvink, J. L. The least-squares line and plane and the analysis of paleomagnetic data. Geophys. J. Int. 62, 699–718 (1980).

88. Roeckner, E. et al. (eds) PART I: Model Description Report No. 349 (Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, 2003); http://www.mpimet.mpg.de/fileadmin/models/echam/mpi_report_349.pdf

89. Marsland, S. J., Haak, H., Jungclaus, J. H., Latif, M. & Roske, F. The Max-Planck-Institute global ocean/sea ice model with orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. Ocean Model. 5, 91–127 (2003).

90. Hagemann, S. & Dumenil, L. A parametrization of the lateral waterflow for the global scale. Clim. Dynam. 14, 17–31 (1997).

91. Hibler, W. D., III. A dynamic thermodynamic sea ice model. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 9, 815–846 (1979).

92. Markwick, P. J. & Valdes, P. J. Palaeo-digital elevation models for use as boundary conditions in coupled ocean–atmosphere GCM experiments: a Maastrichtian (late Cretaceous) example. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 213, 37–63 (2004).

93. Sewall, J. O. et al. Climate model boundary conditions for four Cretaceous time slices. Clim. Past 3, 647–657 (2007).

94. Niezgodzki, I., Tyszka, J., Knorr, G. & Lohmann, G. Was the Arctic Ocean ice free during the latest Cretaceous? The role of CO 2 and gateway configurations. Glob. Planet. Change 177, 201–212 (2019).

95. Wei, W. & Lohmann, G. Simulated Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation during the Holocene. J. Clim. 25, 6989–7002 (2012).

96. Zhang, X., Lohmann, G., Knorr, G. & Purcell, C. Abrupt glacial climate shifts controlled by ice sheet changes. Nature 512, 290–294 (2014).

97. Stepanek, C. & Lohmann, G. Modelling mid-Pliocene climate with COSMOS. Geosci. Model Dev. 5, 1221–1243 (2012).

98. Knorr, G. & Lohmann, G. Climate warming during Antarctic ice sheet expansion at the Middle Miocene transition. Nat. Geosci. 7, 376–381 (2014).

99. Stein, R. et al. Evidence for ice-free summers in the late Miocene central Arctic Ocean. Nat. Commun. 7, 11148 (2016).

100. Walliser, E. O., Lohmann, G., Niezgodzki, I., Tütken, T. & Schöne, B. R. Response of Central European SST to atmospheric pCO 2 forcing during the Oligocene—a combined proxy data and numerical climate model approach. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 459, 552–569 (2016).

101. Vahlenkamp, M. et al. Astronomically paced changes in deep-water circulation in the Western North Atlantic during the Middle Eocene. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 484, 329–340 (2018).

102. Gierz, P., Lohmann, G. & Wei, W. Response of Atlantic Overturning to future warming in a coupled atmosphere–ocean-ice sheet model. Geophys. Res. Lett. 42, 6811–6818 (2015).

103. Simões Pereira, P. et al. Geochemical fingerprints of glacially eroded bedrock from West Antarctica: detrital thermochronology, radiogenic isotope systematics and trace element geochemistry in Late Holocene glacial-marine sediments. Earth Sci. Rev. 182, 204–232 (2018).

104. Stacey, J. S. & Kramers, J. D. Approximation of terrestrial lead isotope evolution by a two-stage model. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 26, 207–221 (1975).

105. Chew, D. M., Sylvester, P. J. & Tubrett, M. N. U–Pb and Th–Pb dating of apatite by LA-ICPMS. Chem. Geol. 280, 200–216 (2011).

106. O’Sullivan, G. J., Chew, D. M., Morton, A. C., Mark, C. & Henrichs, I. A. An integrated apatite geochronology and geochemistry tool for sedimentary provenance analysis. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 19, 1309–1326 (2018).

107. Flowerdew, M. J. et al. Distinguishing East and West Antarctic sediment sources using the Pb isotope composition of detrital K-feldspar. Chem. Geol. 292–293, 88–102 (2012).

108. Petrus, J. A. & Kamber, B. S. VizualAge: a novel approach to laser ablation ICP-MS U-Pb geochronology data reduction. Geostand. Geoanal. Res. 36, 247–270 (2012).

109. Chew, D. M., Petrus, J. A. & Kamber, B. S. U-Pb LA-ICPMS dating using accessory mineral standards with variable common Pb. Chem. Geol. 363, 185–199 (2014).

110. Paton, C., Hellstrom, J., Paul, B., Woodhead, J. & Hergt, J. Iolite: freeware for the visualisation and processing of mass spectrometric data. J. Anal. Atom. Spectrom. 26, 2508–2518 (2011).

111. Ludwig, K. R. User’s Manual for Isoplot 3.75: A Geochronological Toolkit for Microsoft Excel Special Publication No. 4 (Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2012).

112. Nasdala, L. et al. GZ7 and GZ8—two zircon reference materials for SIMS U-Pb geochronology. Geostand. Geoanal. Res. 42, 431–457 (2018).

113. McDowell, F. W., McIntosh, W. C. & Farley, K. A. A precise 40Ar–39Ar reference age for the Durango apatite (U–Th)/He and fission-track dating standard. Chem. Geol. 214, 249–263 (2005).

114. Schoene, B. & Bowring, S. A. U–Pb systematics of the McClure Mountain syenite: thermochronological constraints on the age of the 40Ar/39Ar standard MMhb. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 151, 615 (2006).

115. Mark, C., Cogné, N. & Chew, D. Tracking exhumation and drainage divide migration of the western Alps: a test of the apatite U-Pb thermochronometer as a detrital provenance tool. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 128, 1439–1460 (2016).

116. Mao, M., Rukhlov, A. S., Rowins, S. M., Spence, J. & Coogan, L. A. Apatite trace element compositions: a robust new tool for mineral exploration. Econ. Geol. 111, 1187–1222 (2016).