Most people are aware that the planet is warming at an accelerated rate, but it can be hard to know exactly where, how, and when we'll hit a point of no return. But a United Kingdom research agency is developing a system to help determine that point and hopefully prevent us from going past it.
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) just launched a "moonshot" program worth $106 million to develop early warning systems to alert when the Earth gets close to a climate tipping point, which would have ongoing impacts for everything on the planet, according to the MIT Technology Review.
The warning system is designed to focus on two key areas. The first is the Greenland Ice Sheet, which would dramatically raise sea levels if it continues to melt. The other is the weakening North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre, a large current that spins counterclockwise south of Greenland. Scientists believe that current played a part in the Little Ice Age that occurred in the 14th century, which had a wide array of environmental impacts.
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Over the program's proposed five-year plan, the team hopes to reduce uncertainty about when these tipping points could happen, their impact, and their long-term effects.
Sarah Bohndiek, a program director for the tipping points research program, told the MIT Technology Review that, by developing these warning systems, "we might be able to change the way that we think about climate change and think about our preparedness for it."
Developing this kind of program, if successful, will be a huge help in raising awareness about the effects of an overheating planet and hopefully bringing things back into balance before it progresses too far. Scientists have already sounded the alarm on the impact of rising sea levels, announcing earlier this year that an extinction event has already occurred in the Florida Keys with the loss of the Key Largo tree cactus.
MIT Technology Review notes that some hurdles to the initiative include comprehensive data collection and the potential cost.
Ultimately, while scientists are working on an alarm system, everyday people can continue to adopt little things that add up to reduce their impact on the climate, like switching to electric vehicles, lowering their consumption of plastics, and supporting policies and representatives that advocate for environmental causes.
"We genuinely don't know if an early warning system for these systems is possible," University of Cambridge assistant professor Gemma Bale, an assistant director for the tipping points program, said to MIT Technology Review. "But I think if it is possible, we know that it would be valuable and important for society, and that's part of our mission."
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