75-kyr paired mean summer temperature (MST) and moisture balance (BIT-index) data for eastern equatorial Africa based on GDGT distributions in the DeepCHALLA sediment sequence

The DeepCHALLA (DCH) GDGT-based climate proxy data series consist of paired measurements on 373 discrete 2-cm-thick sediment samples, represented by their DCH event-free depth in meter (mefd). Section depth center refers to the distance (in cm) of the sample’s center from the top of the individual core section as represented by its DCH core code. Sediment age is based on the age model as presented in Fig. 2 in Baxter et al. (2023). Mean Summer Temperature (MST) was calculated from the distribution of sedimentary brGDGTs according to Pearson et al. (2011) and rescaled using an ensemble reconstruction for eastern Africa covering the last 25 ka (Extended Data Fig. 4 in Baxter et al., 2023). The branched versus isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) index of sedimentary brGDGTs from Lake Chala, reflecting lake water-balance variation, was calculated according to Hopmans et al. (2004).