Paleoclimatic models suffer from the lack of boundary conditions that accurately describe the geometries of the seafloor and land surfaces at their geological epoch, and their dynamics over long time scales. For instance, the development of major deep-sea current systems (e.g. the Antarctic Circumpolar Current), in relationship to the opening and closure of oceanic gateways (e.g. Drake Passage, Panama Gateway) cannot yet be implemented due to the lack of accurate reconstructions of the global and regional bathymetric features. This results in uncertainty in estimates of the onset of Antarctic glaciation and its palaeoclimatic consequences. This research topic is aimed at contributing to Cenozoic and Mesozoic climate reconstructions using a variety of Earth system models designed to evaluate the effect of ocean gateways and basins on paleo-circulation patterns, the global carbon cycle, and the nature of polar ice-sheet development. These experiments will include sensitivity runs incorporating new palaeotopographic reconstructions. In a first step, global plate-kinematic, geodynamic and sediment-stratigraphic parameters will be compiled for the development of a global palaeobathymetric/palaeotopographic grid series at high spatial and temporal resolution, from 80 Ma until present, using GIS grid processing and visualization techniques. In a second step, simulations of regional and global palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic scenarios will be performed by integrating these palaeotopographic grids as varying boundary conditions in the model parameterisation.