Palaeogeographic regulation of glacial events during the Cretaceous supergreenhouse

The historical view of a uniformly warm Cretaceous is being increasingly challenged by the accumulation of new data hinting at the possibility of glacial events, even during the Cenomanian-Turonian (~95 Myr ago), the warmest interval of the Cretaceous. Here we show that the palaeogeography typifying the Cenomanian-Turonian renders the Earth System resilient to glaciation with no perennial ice accumulation occurring under prescribed CO₂ levels as low as 420 p.p.m. Conversely, late Aptian (~115 Myr ago) and Maastrichtian (~70 Myr ago) continental configurations set the stage for cooler climatic conditions, favouring possible inception of Antarctic ice sheets under CO₂ concentrations, respectively, about 400 and 300 p.p.m. higher than for the Cenomanian-Turonian. Our simulations notably emphasize that palaeogeography can crucially impact global climate by modulating the CO₂ threshold for ice sheet inception and make the possibility of glacial events during the Cenomanian-Turonian unlikely.