Ocean overturning since the Late Cretaceous: Inferences from a new benthic foraminiferal isotope compilation

Benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotopic ( δ 18 O) and carbon isotopic ( δ 13 C) trends, constructed from compilations of data series from multiple ocean sites, provide one of the primary means of reconstructing changes in the ocean interior. These records are also widely used as a general climate indicator for comparison with local and more specific marine and terrestrial climate proxy records. We present new benthic foraminiferal δ 18 O and δ 13 C compilations for individual ocean basins that provide a robust estimate of benthic foraminiferal stable isotopic variations to ∼80 Ma and tentatively to ∼110 Ma. First‐order variations in interbasinal isotopic gradients delineate transitions from interior ocean…