Global climate impact of land-surface change driven by radiative effects.

Land-surface changes induce a ~0.4 K global-mean temperature response per W m-2 change in top-of-atmosphere net short-wave radiation, comparable to radiative processes.

• Why it matters: Understanding the climate impact of land-surface changes is crucial because they can alter surface hydrology and introduce non-radiative effects that may influence global temperatures differently than other climate drivers.
• What they did: The study compares Earth-system-model simulations with large-scale perturbations of surface albedo and water availability, analyzing how these changes affect planetary albedo and temperature.
• The result: Findings suggest that the global-mean temperature response is primarily driven by radiative processes linked to planetary albedo, with regional cloud cover influencing the magnitude of temperature changes, especially in mid- and high-latitudes.