AMOC Stabilization Under the Interaction With Tipping Polar Ice Sheets

Abstract Several large‐scale components of the climate system may undergo a rapid transition as critical conditions are exceeded. These tipping elements are also dynamically coupled, allowing for a global domino effect under global warming. Here we focus on such cascading events involving the Greenl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: S. Sinet, A. S. von derHeydt, H. A. Dijkstra
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
tipping
tipping cascade
domino effect
AMOC
WAIS
GIS
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Antarc*
Antarctica
Greenland
Ice Sheet
West Antarctica
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100305
https://doaj.org/article/0f50840ad1c04265bfe3eabaeeb224a6
Description
Summary:Abstract Several large‐scale components of the climate system may undergo a rapid transition as critical conditions are exceeded. These tipping elements are also dynamically coupled, allowing for a global domino effect under global warming. Here we focus on such cascading events involving the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), the West Antarctica Ice Sheet (WAIS) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Using a conceptual model, we study the combined tipping behavior due to three dominant feedbacks: the marine ice sheet instability for the WAIS, the height‐surface mass balance feedback for the GIS and the salt‐advection feedback for the AMOC. We show that, in a realistic parameter range of the model, a tipping of the WAIS can inhibit cascading events by preserving the AMOC stability.

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