Climate Tipping Points Live research feed

Climate Tipping Points interactive atlas

Select a tipping point to see the newest science on how tipping points could transform Earth's climate.

10 systems · Live Crossref research feed
10 systems shownSelect a marker to investigate
GreenlandAs the ice sheet loses height, its surface encounters warmer air, amplifying melt and potentially committing Greenland to long-term disintegration.West AntarcticaMuch of the ice rests on bedrock below sea level. Retreat into deeper basins can become self-sustaining once grounding lines destabilize.AMOCFreshening and warming of the North Atlantic can weaken deep-water formation and the salt-advection feedback that sustains the circulation.Arctic sea iceSummer sea ice is not generally expected to tip under anthropogenic forcing, but winter ice may have multiple states and sea-ice loss can amplify other transitions.PermafrostIce-rich ground can collapse abruptly into thermokarst landscapes, while thaw exposes ancient carbon to decomposition and greenhouse-gas release.AmazonWarming, drought, fire, and deforestation can reinforce one another, reducing rainfall and shifting forest toward degraded or open states.Coral reefsRepeated marine heatwaves can outrun recovery, shifting diverse coral systems toward degraded, algae-dominated states.Boreal forestHeat, drought, insects, and fire may accelerate southern forest loss faster than tree cover can expand into the tundra to the north.West African monsoonLand-ocean temperature contrasts and feedbacks may reorganize Sahel rainfall, but models disagree on whether change would be abrupt and in which direction.ENSOENSO is a powerful source of global climate variability that can transmit and intensify stress across rainforests, monsoons, coral reefs, and polar ice.
Cryosphere Circulation Biosphere MediatorDashed lines show potential connections to the selected tipping element
Greenland research profile
West Antarctica research profile
AMOC research profile
Arctic sea ice research profile
Permafrost research profile
Amazon research profile
Coral reefs research profile
Boreal forest research profile
West African monsoon research profile
ENSO research profile