Early warning of climate tipping points
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Material Information

Title:
Early warning of climate tipping points
Series Title:
Nature Climate Change
Creator:
Timothy M. Lenton
Affiliation:
University of Exeter -- College of Life and Environmental Sciences
Publisher:
Macmillan Publishers Limited
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
climate change
ice sheet
weather cycles

Notes

Abstract:
A climate ‘tipping point’ occurs when a small change in forcing triggers a strongly nonlinear response in the internal dynamics of part of the climate system, qualitatively changing its future state. Human-induced climate change could push several large-scale ‘tipping elements’ past a tipping point. Candidates include irreversible melt of the Greenland ice sheet, dieback of the Amazon rainforest and shift of the West African monsoon. Recent assessments give an increased probability of future tipping events, and the corresponding impacts are estimated to be large, making them significant risks. Recent work shows that early warning of an approaching climate tipping point is possible in principle, and could have considerable value in reducing the risk that they pose.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
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Aggregations:
Sea Level Rise