Fig. 1: Paleoclimate evolution over the last 3 million years.

a Global benthic δ18O stack62, b global near surface temperature anomalies from climate model simulations2 and reconstructions1, c Southern Hemisphere extra-tropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies64,65 utilized in our simulations (see “Methods”), d ice rafted debris (IRD) flux from U1536 and U1537 in Dove Basin, southern Scotia Sea12. Grey shading marks the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT).