Climate change tipping points in Antarctica and what this means for the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

• Main Author: Marks, Nicolette
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: University of Canterbury 2017
• Subjects: Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/13821

The Antarctic region is like no other place on Earth. In Antarctica and the Southern Ocean there are large-scale components which may pass critical tipping points within the next century. Anthropogenic climate change pushes the fragile physical and chemical mechanisms of climate sensitive regions into new territory. Minor changes in annual ice duration or light availability could cause radiating ecological responses to Antarctic systems. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is a critical system within the Antarctic and global environment which joins the waters of the major oceans with a strong current unimpeded by any land mass. The impact of reaching or breaching critical tipping point thresholds in Antarctica and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current could be disastrous to the local and global environment.