The tipping points of climate change

Tipping points are those events related to global warming that once overcome represent a point of no return and will be impossible to stop, entering a positive feedback loop where there will be more and more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, increasing global warming. Tipping points are irreversible changes.

Tipping points not to be exceeded:

1. Permafrost thaw

Permafrost is the layer of soil that is frozen year-round in Arctic ecosystems such as the tundra, and that houses large amounts of organic matter that are in a state of permanent freezing.

The problem with thawing permafrost is that once all this organic matter is thawed, it will begin to degrade rapidly due to the effect of microorganisms releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere, which has been observed to have begun.

2. Loss of the Amazon rainforest

This is another point of no return. If the vegetation cover of the Amazon is lost, the water cycle will be seriously affected since the trees when performing photosynthesis emit water vapor into the atmosphere from evapotranspiration, and the formation of clouds and, therefore, rain would be compromised.

The loss of such a large and diverse vegetation cover will have serious consequences on the capture of CO2 favoring an atmosphere increasingly rich in greenhouse gases. Although the increase in temperature will compromise the existence of the Amazon, deforestation is the main problem it faces, which can have serious consequences on the entire climate system and the planet. Not surprisingly, when climate change began to gain relevance, international funds were created for the protection of the Amazon.

3. Total loss of Arctic ice during the summer

Although the Arctic ice sheet is variable between summer and winter, being smaller in summer, if this ice sheet is completely lost the planet will warm more quickly. This is due to the disappearance of the albedo effect. The albedo effect is the ability of very white surfaces (such as ice and snow) to reflect sunlight by preventing infrared radiation (heat) from being absorbed by the Earth’s surface and preventing it from heating up. In contrast, the ocean is darker so infrared radiation is absorbed by the ocean. An increasingly warming ocean will prevent ice from forming on its surface.

Another effect that has been observed is the atlantification of the Barents Sea that slows the formation of ice on the surface of the planet.

4. Melting glaciers, Greenland and Antarctica

The main effect is the reduction of the albedo effect explained above, which will lead to the acceleration of global warming. Continental glaciers are retreating very clearly in the Himalayas, in Europe and Asia. The consequences will not only affect global warming but also the water cycle, increasing the chances of drought in areas where it was highly unlikely and the generation of electricity by hydraulics, a technology widely used in Scandinavia, and that the summer of 2022 has already been compromised.

Positive tipping points

To date, many efforts have been made to control the points of no return of climate change that can have disastrous consequences, but not much emphasis has been placed on those that are positive.

Now a group of scientists led by Tim Lenton, professor at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) and expert in tipping points have presented a plan to find those positive turning points that can mean a change in the consequences of global warming.

Some of these positive points can be the development of renewable energies due to institutional support and the cheapening in contrast to other energies that can become more expensive such as oil or natural gas.

Source: Science and Biology