(Table 1) Stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of benthic foraminifera of ODP Hole 184-1148A

Changes in intermediate and deep ocean circulation likely played a significant role in global carbon cycling and meridional heat/moisture transport during the middle Miocene climate transition (~14 Ma). High-resolution middle Miocene (16-13 Ma) benthic foraminifer stable isotope records from the South China Sea reveal a reorganization of regional bottom waters, which preceded the globally recognized middle Miocene ~1 per mil d18O increase (13.8 Ma) by 100,000 years. An observed reversal of the benthic foraminifera d13C gradient between ODP Sites 1146 (2092 m) and 1148 (3294 m; 13.9-13.5 Ma) is interpreted to reflect an increase in the southward flux of low d13C deep (> 2000 m) Pacific Ocean waters (Flower and Kennett, 1993, doi:10.1029/93PA02196; Shevenell and Kennett, 2004). Large-scale changes in Pacific intermediate and deep ocean circulation, coupled with enhanced global carbon cycling at the end of the Monterey Carbon Isotope excursion, likely acted as internal feedbacks to the Earth's climate system. These feedbacks reduced the sensitivity of Antarctica to lower latitude-derived heat/moisture and facilitated the transition of the Earth's climate system to a new, relatively stable glacial state.

Water temperature reconstructions based on paired Uk'37 and Tex86 records, and paired surface and subsurface Mg/Ca records

This dataset contains the collection of available published paired Uk'37 and Tex86 records spanning multi-millennial to multi-million year time scales, as well as a collection of Mg/Ca-derived temperatures measured in parallel on surface and subsurface dwelling foraminifera, both used in the analyses of Ho and Laepple, Nature Geoscience 2016. As the signal-to-noise ratios of proxy-derived Holocene temperatures are relatively low, we selected records that contain at least the last deglaciation (oldest sample >18kyr BP).

Granulometry, mineralogy and geochemistry of ODP Holes 184-1147A and 184-1148A, South China Sea

Green clay layers are reported from the Pliocene-Holocene intervals in five of the six sites drilled in the South China Sea (SCS) during Leg 184. Centimeter-scale discrete, discontinuous, and bioturbated layers, constituted by stiff and porous green clays, were observed, sometimes associated with iron sulfides and pyrite. Detailed mineralogical and geochemical analyses indicate that they differentiate from the host sediments in their higher content of iron, smectite, and mixed-layered clays and lower amounts of calcite, authigenic phosphorus, quartz, and organic matter. Although no glauconite was observed, the mineralogy and geochemistry of green clay layers, along with their geometrical relation to background sediments, suggest that they most likely represent the result of the first steps of glauconitization. Correlation between green layers and volcanic ash layers was suggested for green laminae observed elsewhere in Pacific sediments but was not confirmed at SCS sites. Statistical analysis of the temporal distribution of green layers in the records of the last million years suggests that green clay layers have become more frequent since 600 ka. Only at Site 1148 does the green layer record show a statistically significant cyclicity which may be related to orbital eccentricity. A possible influence of sea level variations, related both to climatic changes and tectonism, is postulated.

(Table 1) Oxygen and carbon isotope ratios of benthic foraminifera of DSDP Holes 82-563

Previous studies of benthic foraminiferal isotopic composition have demonstrated that a latest Eocene-earliest Oligocene benthic foraminiferal d18O increase occurred in the Pacific, Southern and Atlantic Oceans (Douglas and Savin, 1973, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.17.120.1973; Savin et al., 1977, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1975)86<1499:TMP>2.0.CO;2; Shackleton and Kennett, 1975, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.29.117.1975; Kennett and Shackleton, 1976, doi:10.1038/260513a0; Savin, 1977, doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.05.050177.001535; Keigwin, 1980, doi:10.1038/287722a0; Boersma and Shackleton, 1979, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.39.139.1977; Miller and Curry, 1982, doi:10.1038/296347a0; Miller et al., 1985, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.80.113.1985). A Middle Miocene d18O increase has been noted in the Pacific, Southern and South Atlantic Oceans (Douglas and Savin, 1973, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.17.120.1973; Savin et al., 1975, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1975)86<1499:TMP>2.0.CO;2; Shackleton and Kennett, 1975, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.29.117.1975; Boersma and Shackleton, 1979, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.39.139.1977; Woodruff et al., 1981, doi:10.1126/science.212.4495.665; Savin et al., 1981, doi:10.1016/0377-8398(81)90031-1; and tentatively identified in the North Atlantic (Blanc et al., 1980, doi:10.1038/283553a0; Blanc and Duplessy, 1982, doi:10.1016/0198-0149(82)90033-4). Due to the incomplete nature of the North Atlantic stratigraphical record, however, the Oligocene to Middle Miocene isotopic record (Moore et al., 1978, Miller and Tucholke, 1983) of this ocean is poorly understood. In the modern ocean, the North Atlantic and its marginal seas has a critical role in abyssal circulation, influencing deep- and bottom-water hydrography as far away as the North Pacific (Reid and Lynn, 1971, doi:10.1016/0011-7471(71)90094-5; Worthington, 1976; Reid, 1971, doi:10.1016/0198-0149(79)90064-5). We now report oxygen isotope measurements on Oligocene to Middle Miocene (12-36 Myr BP) benthic foraminifera in the western North Atlantic which show two periods of enriched 18O values: early Oligocene and early Middle Miocene. These enriched intervals are interpreted as resulting, in part, from the build-up of continental ice sheets. The Oligocene to Middle Miocene d13C record shows three cycles of enrichment and depletion of large enough magnitude to be useful for time-Stratigraphical correlations. Within the biostratigraphical age resolution, d18O and d13C records correlate with records from other oceans, helping to establish a useful Tertiary isotopic stratigraphy. An Atlantic-Pacific d13C contrast of 0.3-0.9 per mil during the latest Oligocene to Middle Miocene (12-26 Myr BP) indicates North Atlantic deep and bottom-water production analogous to modern North Atlantic deep water (NADW).

(Table 2) Stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of foraminifera of DSDP Holes 29-277 and 31-292

Oxygen isotopic studies both of benthic formanifera (Emiliani, 1954, doi:10.1126/science.119.3103.853; Savin et al., 1975, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1975)86<1499:TMP>2.0.CO;2; Shackleton and Kennett, 1975, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.29.117.1975; Savin, 1977, doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.05.050177.001535) and shallow-marine carbonates ( Dorman, 1966; Devereux, 1967; Buchart, 1978, doi:10.1038/275121a0) have provided a useful monitor of marine palaeotemperatures. The Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) has provided cores from many ocean basins to conduct detailed stable isotopic and palaeoceanographic studies of the Cenozoic and late Mesozoic. DSDP Sites 277 and 292, separated by ~60° latitude in Palaeogene times, each record an 18O enrichment in benthic foraminifera of nearly 1 per mil beginning at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. Planktonic foraminiferal trends are similar to benthic trends in the high latitude southwest Pacific Ocean, but tropical planktonics show only a minor (~0.3 per mil) increase which may reflect a change in seawater composition. These results suggest a sudden cooling of Pacific deep waters and high latitude surface waters forms a useful stratigraphic marker for the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. This boundary is particularly important because of its association with several worldwide palaeo-oceanographic and biogeographic changes. These include a sudden drop in the calcite compensation depth of 1-2 km (van Andel et al., 1975; van Andel, 1975, doi:10.1016/0012-821X(75)90086-2); a decrease in planktonic microfossil diversity (Lipps, 1970, 10.2307/2406711; Kennett, 1978, doi:10.1016/0377-8398(78)90017-8; Sancetta, 1979, doi:10.1016/0377-8398(79)90025-2); a change in planktonic biogeographic patterns (Kennett, 1978, doi:10.1016/0377-8398(78)90017-8; Sancetta, 1979, doi:10.1016/0377-8398(79)90025-2; Haq and Lohmann, 1976, doi:10.1016/0377-8398(76)90008-6); and increased erosion of deep-sea sediments over wide areas (Kennet et al., 1972; Moore et al., 1978).