We evaluate how winds change when humans grow or cut down forests. Our analysis draws from climate model simulations with extreme scenarios where Europe is either fully forested or covered with grass. We find that the effect of land use change on wind energy is very important: wind energy potentials are twice as high above grass as compared to forest in some locations. Our results imply that wind profile changes should be better incorporated in climate change assessments for wind energy.

Using a high-resolution regionally coupled model, we suggest that Dakar Niño variability will be reinforced under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario. This may be induced by intensified surface heat flux anomalies and, secondarily, by anomalies in horizontal and vertical advection. Increased sea surface temperature (SST) variability can be associated with stronger wind variability, attributed to amplified surface temperature anomalies between ocean and land.

Using a fast Earth system model we trace the stability landscape of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in the combined freshwater forcing–atmospheric CO₂ space. We find four different Atlantic meridional overturning circulation states that are stable under different conditions and a generally increasing equilibrium Atlantic meridional overturning circulation strength with increasing CO₂ concentrations.

Climate sensitivity and aerosol forcing are central quantities in climate science that are uncertain and contribute to the spread in climate projections. To constrain them, we use observations of temperature and ocean heat content as well as prior knowledge of radiative forcings over the industrialized period. The estimates are sensitive to how aerosol cooling evolved over the latter part of the 20th century, and a strong aerosol forcing trend in the 1960s–1970s is not supported by our analysis.

Our study in eastern Siberia investigated how fires affect permafrost thaw depth in larch forests. We found that fire induces deeper thaw, yet this process was mediated by topography and vegetation. By combining field and satellite data, we estimated summer thaw depth across an entire fire scar. This research provides insights into post-fire permafrost dynamics and the use of satellite data for mapping fire-induced permafrost thaw.