Projected Large-scale Singularities From Climate Change
There are a number of issues that could cause a range of direct and indirect consequences to many regions of the world, including Australia. These include large-scale singularities—sudden, potentially disastrous changes in ecosystems brought on gradual changes. The collapse of regional, or even global, coral reef ecosystems is possibly the most significant potential large-scale singularity to Australia. Coral reef ecosystems have a narrow temperature range, meaning that they can rapidly change from being a healthy system to being stressed, bleached, or at worst, eradicated.
Ecosystem changes in other parts of the world could also have serious consequences for climate change for the Australian continent. Evidence from carbon cycle modeling suggests that the deaths of forests in tropical regions might increase the net concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, by converting the terrestrial biosphere from a carbon sink to a source of CO2.
Recently, scientists have expressed concern about the potential for climate change to destabilize the Greenland Ice Sheet and West Antarctic Ice Sheet. An increase in global temperatures as well as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets (which causes an increase in the volume of freshwater flowing into the ocean), could threaten the balance of the global ocean thermohaline circulation (THC). Such deterioration could cause significant environmental and economic consequences through regional climate shifts in Australia and elsewhere, resulting from change in the global ocean circulation. Melting of glaciers and ice sheets also contributes to sea-level rise. Immense quantities of ice are held in the ice sheets of West Antarctica and Greenland, jointly containing the equivalent of approximately 12 meters of sea-level rise. Deterioration or breakdown of these ice sheets would lead to irreversible sea-level rise and coastal inundation across the globe.
The CSIRO predicts that additional singularities caused by a temperature rise of between 2 and 3 degrees celsius will be:
- Beginning of effects on thermohaline circulation (THC). (
- Considerable decrease in THC.
- 20–25% decrease in THC.
- 5% possibility of significant change in THC.
- Threshold surpassed for breakdown of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
New projections for Australia's changing climate include:
- Increasingly regular droughts, especially in the southwest,
- Higher evaporation rates, specifically in the north and east,
- Intensifying high-fire-danger weather in the southeast,
- Continually rising sea levels.
Read more about this topic: Effects Of Global Warming On Australia
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