Pollen-corrected leaf wax D/H reconstructions of northeast African hydrological changes during the late Miocene

► Marine core off NE Africa contains plant leaf wax and pollen microfossils. ► Pollen corrects for vegetation isotope effects acting on leaf wax D/H. ► Vegetation-corrected leaf wax D/H records hydrological change. ► This is a novel interpretative framework for the leaf wax D/H proxy. ► We resolve wet-dry shifts during the late Miocene.