English
 
Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT
Add to Basket
  Local TagsRelease HistoryDetailsSummary

Released
Contribution to Collected Edition

Tipping points in the cryosphere

Authors
/persons/resource/Ricarda.Winkelmann

Winkelmann,  Ricarda
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Steinert,  Norman J.
External Organizations;

McKay,  David I. Armstrong
External Organizations;

Brovkin ,  Victor
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Kääb,  Andreas
External Organizations;

Notz,  Dirk
External Organizations;

Aksenov,  Yevgeny
External Organizations;

Arndt,  Sandra
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/sebastian.bathiany

Bathiany,  Sebastian
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Burke,  Eleanor
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/julius.garbe

Garbe,  Julius
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Gasson,  Ed
External Organizations;

Goelzer,  Heiko
External Organizations;

Hugelius,  Gustaf
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/klose.ann.kristin

Klose,  Ann Kristin
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Langebroek,  Petra
External Organizations;

Marzeion,  Ben
External Organizations;

Maussion,  Fabien
External Organizations;

Nitzbon,  Jan
External Organizations;

Robinson,  Alex
External Organizations;

Rynders,  Stefanie
External Organizations;

Sudakow,  Ivan
External Organizations;

External Ressource
Fulltext (public)

GTP-full-report-071223.pdf
(Publisher version), 75MB

Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Winkelmann, R., Steinert, N. J., McKay, D. I. A., Brovkin, V., Kääb, A., Notz, D., Aksenov, Y., Arndt, S., Bathiany, S., Burke, E., Garbe, J., Gasson, E., Goelzer, H., Hugelius, G., Klose, A. K., Langebroek, P., Marzeion, B., Maussion, F., Nitzbon, J., Robinson, A., Rynders, S., Sudakow, I. (2023): Tipping points in the cryosphere. - In: Lenton, T. M., Armstrong McKay, D. I., Loriani, S., Abrams, A., Lade, S. J., Donges, J. F., Buxton, J. E., Milkoreit, M., Powell, T., Smith, S. R., Zimm, Z., Bailey, E., Dyke, J. G., Ghadiali, A., Laybourn, L. (Eds.), The Global Tipping Points Report 2023, Exeter : University of Exeter, 56-77.


Cite as: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_29320
Abstract
Drastic changes in our planet’s frozen landscapes have occurred over recent decades, from Arctic sea ice decline and thawing of permafrost soils to polar amplification, the retreat of glaciers and ice loss from the ice sheets. In this chapter, we assess multiple lines of evidence for tipping points in the cryosphere – encompassing the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica, sea ice, mountain glaciers and permafrost – based on recent observations, palaeorecords, numerical modelling and theoretical understanding. With about 1.2°C of global warming compared to pre-industrial levels, we are getting dangerously close to the temperature thresholds of some major tipping points for the ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica. Crossing these would lock in unavoidable long-term global sea level rise of up to 10 metres. There is evidence for localised and regional tipping points for glaciers and permafrost and, while evidence for global-scale tipping dynamics in sea ice, glaciers and permafrost is limited, their decline will continue with unabated global warming. Because of the long response times of these systems, some impacts of crossing potential tipping points will unfold over centuries to millennia. However, with the current trajectory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and subsequent anthropogenic climate change, such largely irreversible changes might already have been triggered. These will cause far-reaching impacts for ecosystems and humans alike, threatening the livelihoods of millions of people, and will become more severe the further global warming progresses.