Identification

Title

Extreme events contributing to tipping elements and tipping points

Abstract

This review article provides a synthesis and perspective on how weather and climate extreme events can play a role in influencing tipping elements and triggering tipping points in the Earth System. An example of a potential critical global tipping point, induced by climate extremes in an increasingly warmer climate, is Amazon rainforest dieback that could be driven by regional increases in droughts and exacerbated by fires, in addition to deforestation. A tipping element associated with the boreal forest might also be vulnerable to heat, drought and fire. An oceanic example is the potential collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation due to extreme variability in freshwater inputs, while marine heatwaves and high acidity extremes can lead to coral reef collapse. Extreme heat events may furthermore play an important role in ice sheet, glacier and permafrost stability. Regional severe extreme events could also lead to tipping in ecosystems, as well as in human systems, in response to climate drivers. However, substantial scientific uncertainty remains on mechanistic links between extreme events and tipping points. Earth observations are of high relevance to evaluate and constrain those links between extreme events and tipping elements, by determining conditions leading to delayed recovery with a potential for tipping in the atmosphere, on land, in vegetation, and in the ocean. In the subsurface ocean, there is a lack of consistent, synoptic and high frequency observations of changes in both ocean physics and biogeochemistry. This review article shows the importance of considering the interface between extreme events and tipping points, two topics usually addressed in isolation, and the need for continued monitoring to observe early warning signs and to evaluate Earth system response to extreme events as well as improving model skill in simulating extremes, compound extremes and tipping elements.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7kw5mg0

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

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code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

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Temporal reference

Temporal extent

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Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2024-11-01T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

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Use constraints

<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;" data-sheets-root="1">Copyright author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</span>

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact