Dr. Alexander J. Winkler

My research centres on understanding how the land surface and the atmosphere above interact, and what role these interactions play in the integrated climate system. I take a coupled perspective — from conceptual single-column models to fully coupled Earth system models — and infuse observations along the way, from tree-ring data and ground-based flux measurements to satellite observations, each capturing different processes and scales. Central methods include process-based modelling, causal inference on Earth-observation data, and physics-constrained machine learning (hybrid modelling).

The research questions driving my work are fundamental: how does this coupled atmosphere–biosphere system change with rising CO₂ and associated climatic changes? Carbon and water cycles are being pushed out of balance, radiative and energy fluxes from the surface to the top of the atmosphere are shifting, and with them the environmental conditions that sustain ecosystems, food production, and ultimately the long-term trajectory of Earth's climate. The group addresses these questions both from a basic-research perspective and with a clear aim to provide actionable insights for the climatic changes in the atmosphere–land realm for the decades ahead.

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