Thread by @wang_seaver

New from me: I worked with @AGU_Eos, @theAGU + #AGUpubs to put together a plain-language, Q&A-style piece discussing our recent review paper on climate tipping elements!

Thanks to @AGU_Eos for inviting me to write this Editor's Vox article.

fal.cn/3xkL3

The @AGU_Eos editors posed great questions:
- What are tipping elements? Which ones did you review?
- What are challenges of studying tipping elements?
- What is a “tipping cascade”?
- Which tipping elements could start undergoing major changes soon?
- What Qs remain unanswered?

One thing I would emphasize is that climate impacts from tipping elements do not manifest abruptly overnight. Many tipping elements like permafrost soils or ice-sheets act overall on longer timescales of a century or more. Some can show shifts faster, over decades.

We also still have considerable ability to reduce the impacts associated with many tipping elements: "Future scenarios where society considerably limits and reduces greenhouse gas emissions will reduce climate risks assoc. w both tipping elements + their possible interactions."

"The possibility of tipping cascades is concerning + requires further study. However, most research suggests that continued human emissions influence tipping elements signif. more than the smaller climate feedbacks that tipping elements themselves are likely to participate in."

You can find the full-text version of our review paper here on the @theAGU Reviews of Geophysics website, available for open access:

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/20…

And here's an earlier thread from me explaining what topics we covered in our review article and summarizing some of the key takeaways:

https://twitter.com/wang_seaver/status/1630686865954320384?s=20

Do check out the full Editor's Vox Q&A here!

Hopefully this can be an accessible, useful resource to share with students and the general public, and a nice starting point for readers before they dive into our more detailed review.

eos.org/editors-vox/wh…