Background
This new workshop series is motivated by growing concerns about “tipping point” events, which have most recently focused on unchecked risks of dramatic and abrupt global impacts to natural systems from climate change. However, the concept of tipping points goes beyond Earth systems and has also been applied to disruptive changes across multiple disciplines including economics, natural ecosystems, epidemiology and managed resources. It has commonly been associated with “failures,” “breakpoints,” “thresholds,” “unintended consequences” and “cascading and compounding risks” across multiple systems. Yet other tipping point examples also highlight how “little changes” and seemingly “small actions” can make “big differences” and improvements in our lives. Despite many compelling cases, key scientific challenges remain in the metrics, models and supporting analyses needed to reliably represent, simulate and predict the complex, multi-system relationships and abrupt behaviors that define a tipping point. This workshop series aims to provide an interactive and collaborative platform to foster the needed research.
Agenda
Our inaugural workshop will be co-hosted with colleagues at the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI) of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and feature a presentation by Chris Vernon. Chris will provide a literature-based assessment to explore the definition of “tipping points,” how and the extent to which the science has evolved under the nomenclature of “tipping points,” what are the most promising and perhaps unrealized synergies and collaborations, and how can we align these with key research priorities.