Code and data for "Amplified European future warming under mesoscale-resolving sea surface temperature forcing"

Model data and code to reproduce the figures in "Amplified European future warming under mesoscale-resolving sea surface temperature forcing" Authors Eduardo Moreno-Chamarro and Pablo OrtegaAbstract Mesoscale SST features—eddies, fronts, and filaments—influence the atmospheric circulation via strong air–sea interactions. Yet, their ultimate contribution to regional climate change remains uncertain. Using a ~16-km global atmospheric model forced with mesoscale-resolving and -smoothed SSTs from EC-Earth3P-VHR coupled simulations, we assess the impact on the European winter climate under present (1960–1979) and future (2030–2049) conditions. In the present climate, mesoscale-resolving SSTs influence the mean atmospheric conditions minimally. Under future warming, however, they act as a powerful amplifier of European winter climate change. Mesoscale SST anomalies intensify latent heat release along the Gulf Stream, strengthening baroclinic instability and the North Atlantic storm track. This drives a positive NAO-like pattern, leading to warmer and wetter European winters. Removing the mesoscale variability yields the opposite response, with weak storm tracks, enhanced blocking, and muted warming. Mesoscale SST features thus emerge as a key driver of mid-latitude atmospheric circulation changes under future warming conditions.