Climate Change “Tipping Points”

Climate scientists have identified twelve areas where global warming could bring about sudden catastrophic changes, which would have far reaching effects and may intensify climate change. John Schellnhuber, research director at the Tyndal Centre for Climate Change Research in Norwich, U.K. calls these hotspots, “tipping points”. At the EuroScience Forum in Stockholm, last year, Schellnhuber called for a global effort to research these tipping points and identify others.

Certain regions and earth systems have strong impacts on the global climate. Thinning of the ozone layer might cause die-offs of aquatic life, which could produce a large release of CO₂. Melting of ice sheets could reduce the earth's reflectivity, exacerbating global warming. Changes in ocean currents, loss of tropical rain forest and changes in desert regions could have profound effects on global climate systems.

The increasing scientific evidence that humans may be altering the earth's climate and the rapid rise of our population in the past century indicate the need for study of the interrelated global systems of the planet's climate, geology and ecology.

Links:

• Pressure points from the Guardian Unlimited


• Earth warned on “tipping points” from the BBC News


• Climate gas cuts ‘are affordable’ from the BBC News

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:50 PM on March 3, 2005

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