Thursday, February 11, 2010

Printable version Climate 'Tipping Points' May Arrive Without Warning, Says Top Forecaster

from University of California, Davis. 
"Many scientists are looking for the warning signs that herald sudden changes in natural systems, in hopes of forestalling those changes, or improving our preparations for them," said UC Davis theoretical ecologist Alan Hastings. "Our new study found, unfortunately, that regime shifts with potentially large consequences can happen without warning — systems can ‘tip’ precipitously.