Eocene-Oligocene sea surface temperature and pCO2 estimates

Taking advantage of the excellent state of preservation of coccolith calcite in equatorial Atlantic deep-sea cores, we unveil progressive tropical warming in the Atlantic Ocean initiated 4 million years prior to Antarctic glaciation.

Warming preceding glaciation may appear counterintuitive, but we argue that this long-term climatic precursor to the EOT reinforced cooling of austral high latitudes via the redistribution of heat at the surface of the oceans. We discuss this new prominent paleoceanographic and climatic feature in the context of overarching pCO2 decline and the establishment of an Antarctic circumpolar current.