Ep 3. | Has the Greenland ice sheet passed a tipping point? Ft. @JasonBoxClimate

In the third episode of the Biggest Loser, we get into a big subject: has the Greenland ice sheet passed a tipping point?

Contents
00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Tipping points
02:38 - Feedbacks + the biggest loser
03:49 - Greenland's tipping thresholds
04:42 - Will Greenland tip?
06:28 - Summary

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References and resources

[robertlussier]

Being that essentially NOTHING is being done to curb carbon loading on our atmosphere, I think it's a pretty safe bet that the tipping points that used to occur on a geologic time scale are rapidly accelerating.

[lucasm]

This is fascinating! After hearing Jason say it, it is really obvious, but hearing his explanation about how tipping points work when it comes to ice sheets is really illuminating. It takes away a bit of the "doomer mentality" while still highlighting we 1. have a LOT to do and 2. we have known for decades what the solutions are so we need to get on with it.

Also I can't help but notice this was filmed a while back (you're wearing a turtleneck in the video), hope you're managing to keep cool out there. :) Thank you once again for introducing us to Jason, he's great.

[FAS]

Thank you Ella. I have spent the last 40 years thinking that world leaders cannot be stupid enough to allow the world to burn, but as in many other areas, I have been spectacularly wrong, so far. I have written to members of parliament many times, but most seem too small minded to understand the scale of the climate problem. You give me hope, and there are small signs of change among those in power, so it may not be too late.

[ClimateAdam]

This is such a vital reminder that the image we have of a tipping point is suuuper misleading.

[DrMarkHShapiro]

Another very interesting video, but I was a little disappointed that there was no mention of the possible effect on the Greenland ice sheet from the very large number of wildfires across Canada in the past several months. Black and brown carbon particles emitted from those wildfires have the potential to darken the surface of the Greenland ice, which in turn would lead to faster warming of the ice sheet.

[mikecoppola]

A very good presentation. I just like to point out two things that were not addressed. One as greenland melts the top of the icesheet becomes lower moving it down to a warmer elevation resulting in an additional positive feedback speeding up the melting. Second are the combined effects of other tipping point events. Such as the soot from the wildfires settling on the surface. This is a problem both when it settles on new snow or reappear when the surface melts. However you are correct that we have a more urgent concern with water shortage, floods, hurricanes, food shortage and mass migration and confict over resources.

[tomschwab]

I totally enjoyed this video. I love the narrator and her accent. Very pleaseing to listen to !

[kirkfrauenheim]

Great video. Thanks. I just saw the Guardian reported that sea level rise had reached 4.6 mm a year between 2013 and 2022. Double the rate of the previous decade.

[rickricky]

wow reading the comments it seems every one is an expert and every one has been to greenland.

[reallymysterious]

I have much respect for Paul Beckwith's work and tend to agree with him that Greenland's ice will not last for 200 years any more or even 100

[brianwheeldon]

Thanks for this interview Dr Gilbz. Jason is 'the' expert on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The global average CO2 atmospheric concentration is now firmly established above 420 ppm with a recent reading from Mauna Loa at 424 ppm. If Methane and Nitrous Oxide are included on a CO2 equivalence basis, we are conservatively looking at 510 to 520 ppm at this time. A recent evaluation has put it at 560 CO2 (e). Has the GIS passed through a tipping point? There does seem to be a not insignificant number of prominent climate scientists admitting it has. Whether it has or it hasn't is a mute point. The global ocean is experiencing substantial heatwaves from New Zealand to the North Pacific and North Atlantic, and this doesn't include the ENSO we are entering at the minute. Only severe and urgent mitigation of the burning of fossil fuels globally can slow the inexorable rise of the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It would be nice to put an optimistic outlook on the Greenland Ice Sheet although practically speaking it doesn't look like it, but never say never. As Jason says, food and clean water are the key issues right now.

[rebdomine]

The Arctic is experiencing climate change at an accelerated pace compared to the global average, get used to the phrase "faster than expected". The last time there was this much carbon in the atmosphere, there was no ice at either pole. Its a matter of time, feedback loops playing out, we are headed for a hothouse Earth at a pace the world has never seen before. We don't have the time, resources or resiliency to adapt our civilisation to these changing conditions. We grow our crops outside, totally dependent on stable weather patterns and a functioning biosphere. It is correct to be concerned.

[seeingtheforest]

What nobody ever mentions is that every time an ice sheet slides into the ocean, we lose a whole lotta drinkable water!

[nottenvironmental]

To say that Greenland icesheet will last for 100yrs with rapidly accelerating emissions and cascading tipping points nearby goes against the current trend. Antarctica pt currently 25°c above normal.

[casperrocks]

When it started raining was when Greenland hit a tipping point you watch if rain continues Greenland will start having 30+C degrees on regular basis which will destroy the icefields quicker than any projections ever made

[dlmcnamara]

The chances of us staying below 1.6c are essentially zero. Even if we stopped all emissions today, the warming from the current co2 concentration will push us above 1.6; and that’s not going to be a temporary blip, we’ll be above it for centuries if not millennia. So yeah, we’ve pushed the Greenland ice sheet past it’s tipping point, it’s just that the warming and melting process plays out over a long time scale.

[tommclean]

Indigenous people in Canada say that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. That seems quite relevant when thinking about why we should care about melting processes that take decades or centuries.

[Korrupt_kiwi]

Thank you Dr Gilbz for providing an information source that connects those interested with people that are educated in the fields they are talking about!
An FYI, I am getting many fuel station ads on your videos, not sure if you have any control over that but thought you'd like to know.

[noahbody]

Almost 40 years of tipping points. Give it up.

[SkyNetIO]

Aw, Lads we losing! we geting called out! come on lads! we can do this! just one big try! Lads Lads Lads