Work

Permafrost and ice sheets: potential abrupt and/or irreversible changes

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This short article presents a summary of a public lecture held at the Académie des Sciences in March, 2024 on continental tipping elements in the climate system. It first discusses some critical aspects of the tipping elements/tipping points concept as currently used in climate science. It is argued that using more clearly defined concepts such as abruptness and irreversibility instead of the “tipping element” framing, as done in the IPCC AR6 WGI report, can avoid confusion. The permafrost carbon reservoir and large continental ice sheets are then presented as prime examples of climate system elements possibly subject to abrupt and irreversible changes.

Source: Comptes Rendus Géoscience

DOI: 10.5802/crgeos.305

Author: Gerhard Krinner

Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

Language: English

Topic: Ecosystem dynamics and resilience

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4414090378