A late Quaternary sedimentary record of steryl alkyl ethers from offshore southeastern Australia

► Wide range of steryl alkyl ethers (SAEs) present in sediments. ► Offshore southeastern Australia, C27-30:1-2 C10 SAEs dominated over the last 100 ka. ► Sediments >ca.100 ka have a different distribution containing some C27-29:1 C11 SAEs. ► Accumulation rate of SAEs increases with sharp decrease in sea surface temperature.