The phrase "tipping point" was first popularized in
2000 by the author Malcolm Gladwell, who wrote about how seemingly
minor changes in a system can accumulate to create a "moment
of critical mass" that has a major impact1.
Gladwell primarily discussed tipping points caused by social
contagion, which is when behaviors and attitudes spread
through social interactions, such as trends in fashion, music, or
crime. But tipping points also exist in many natural systems,
including the Earth's climate.
Traditionally, climate tipping points have been best
understood as a transition from one base state to
another.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines a tipping
point as a critical threshold beyond which a system
re-organizes, often abruptly and/or irreversibly2.
Traditionally, climate tipping points have been best understood as
a transition from one base state to another (also known as
bifurcation-induced tipping). The transition is usually
associated
