The isotopic composition of carbon, δ¹³C, in seawater is used in reconstructions of ocean circulation, marine productivity, air-sea gas exchange, and biosphere carbon storage. Here, a synthesis of δ¹³C measurements taken from foraminifera in marine sediment cores over the last 150 000 years is presented. The dataset comprises previously published and unpublished data from benthic and planktonic records throughout the global ocean. Data are placed on a common δ¹⁸O age scale suitable for examining orbital timescale variability but not millennial events, which are removed by a 10 ka filter. Error estimates account for the resolution and scatter of the original data, and uncertainty in the relationship between δ¹³C of calcite and of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in seawater. This will assist comparison with δ¹³C of DIC output from models, which can be further improved using model outputs such as temperature, DIC concentration, and alkalinity to improve estimates of fractionation during calcite formation.

High global deep ocean δ¹³C, indicating isotopically heavy carbon, is obtained during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 3, 5a, c and e, and low δ¹³C during MIS 2, 4 and 6, which are temperature minima, with larger amplitude variability in the Atlantic Ocean than the Pacific Ocean. This is likely to result from changes in biosphere carbon storage, modulated by changes in ocean circulation, productivity, and air-sea gas exchange. The North Atlantic vertical δ¹³C gradient is greater during temperature minima than temperature maxima, attributed to changes in the spatial extent of Atlantic source waters. There are insufficient data from shallower than 2500 m to obtain a coherent pattern in other ocean basins. The data synthesis indicates that basin-scale δ¹³C during the last interglacial (MIS 5e) is not clearly distinguishable from the Holocene (MIS 1) or from MIS 5a and 5c, despite significant differences in ice volume and atmospheric CO₂ concentration during these intervals. Similarly, MIS 6 is only distinguishable from MIS 2 or 4 due to globally lower δ¹³C values both in benthic and planktonic data. This result is obtained despite individual records showing differences between these intervals, indicating that care must be used in interpreting large scale signals from a small number of records

Stable isotope ratios of oxygen and hydrogen in the Antarctic ice core record have revolutionized our understanding of Pleistocene climate variations and have allowed reconstructions of Antarctic temperature over the past 800,000 years (800 kyr; refs 1, 2). The relationship between the D/H ratio of mean annual precipitation and mean annual surface air temperature is said to be uniform +/-10% over East Antarctica and constant with time +/-20% (refs 3-5). In the absence of strong independent temperature proxy evidence allowing us to calibrate individual ice cores, prior general circulation model (GCM) studies have supported the assumption of constant uniform conversion for climates cooler than that of the present day. Here we analyse the three available 340 kyr East Antarctic ice core records alongside input from GCM modelling. We show that for warmer interglacial periods the relationship between temperature and the isotopic signature varies among ice core sites, and that therefore the conversions must be nonlinear for at least some sites. Model results indicate that the isotopic composition of East Antarctic ice is less sensitive to temperature changes during warmer climates. We conclude that previous temperature estimates from interglacial climates are likely to be too low. The available evidence is consistent with a peak Antarctic interglacial temperature that was at least 6 K higher than that of the present day -approximately double the widely quoted 3 +/- 1.5 K (refs 5, 6).