We revisit early warning signals (EWS) for past abrupt climate changes known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events. Using advanced statistical methods, we find fewer significant EWS than previously reported. While some signals appear consistent across Greenland ice core records, they are not enough to identify the still unknown mechanisms behind DO events. This study highlights the complexity of predicting climate changes and urges caution in interpreting (paleo-)climate data.

Before a climate component reaches a tipping point, there may be observable changes in its statistical properties. These are known as early warning signals and include increased fluctuation and correlation times. We present a Bayesian approach to detect these signals, using a model where the correlation parameter depends linearly on time for which the slope can be estimated directly from the data. The model is then applied to Dansgaard–Oeschger events using Greenland ice core data.

As Arctic sea ice shrinks, new shipping routes become more accessible. This study compares the effects of two main Arctic pathways: the Northern and the Transpolar Sea routes. Using a high-complexity climate model, we simulate black carbon emissions from ships. When deposited on sea ice, black carbon increases solar absorption, enhancing melt. We analyze absorbed solar radiation, sea ice extent, and air temperature, finding that the Transpolar Sea Route has a greater effect on Arctic sea ice.

In layer counted proxy records each measurement is accompanied by a timestamp typically measured by counting periodic layers. Knowledge of the uncertainty of this timestamp is important for a rigorous propagation to further analyses. By assuming a Bayesian regression model to the layer increments we express the dating uncertainty by the posterior distribution, from which chronologies can be sampled efficiently. We apply our framework to dating abrupt warming transitions during the last glacial.