Global warming is one of the main threats to the stability of the present-day climate system. Under this warming, specific climate system components might change abruptly when certain critical thresholds are exceeded. Examples of such tipping elements (Lenton et al., 2008) are the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). A thorough understanding of the mechanisms and impact of tipping behavior in these subsystems is fundamental in assessing the risks of climate change (Kemp et al., 2022). Tipping elements are also strongly interacting, for example, the polar ice sheets and the ocean circulation, and hence tipping in one subsystem (the leading system) may lead to tipping in another (the following system), in a so-called tipping cascade (Dekker et al., 2018). This rises the possibility of domino effects, causing the climate system to collapse while the threshold of one subsystem only has been crossed (Klose et al., 2021). However, the collapse of one subsystem may also stabilize others (

Abstract. Climate tipping elements are large-scale subsystems of the Earth that may transgress critical thresholds (tipping points) under ongoing global warming, with substantial impacts on biosphere and human societies. Frequently studied examples of such tipping elements include the Greenland Ice Sheet, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, permafrost, monsoon systems, and the Amazon rainforest. While recent scientific efforts have improved our knowledge about individual tipping elements, the interactions between them are less well understood. Also, the potential of individual tipping events to induce additional tipping elsewhere, or stabilize other tipping elements is largely unknown. Here, we map out the current state of the literature on the interactions between climate tipping elements and review the influences between them. To do so, we gathered evidence from model simulations, observations and conceptual understanding, as well as archetypal examples of paleoclimate reconstructions where multi-component or spatially propagating transitions were potentially at play. Lastly, we identify crucial knowledge gaps in tipping element interactions and outline how future research could address those gaps.

Global warming is one of the main threats to the stability of the present-day climate system. Under this warming, specific climate system components might change abruptly when certain critical thresholds are exceeded. Examples of such tipping elements (Lenton et al., 2008) are the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). A thorough understanding of the mechanisms and impact of tipping behavior in these subsystems is fundamental in assessing the risks of climate change (Kemp et al., 2022). Tipping elements are also strongly interacting, for example, the polar ice sheets and the ocean circulation, and hence tipping in one subsystem (the leading system) may lead to tipping in another (the following system), in a so-called tipping cascade (Dekker et al., 2018). This rises the possibility of domino effects, causing the climate system to collapse while the threshold of one subsystem only has been crossed (Klose et al., 2021). However, the collapse of one subsystem may also stabilize others (

Global warming is one of the main threats to the stability of the present-day climate system. Under this warming, specific climate system components might change abruptly when certain critical thresholds are exceeded. Examples of such tipping elements (Lenton et al., 2008) are the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). A thorough understanding of the mechanisms and impact of tipping behavior in these subsystems is fundamental in assessing the risks of climate change (Kemp et al., 2022). Tipping elements are also strongly interacting, for example, the polar ice sheets and the ocean circulation, and hence tipping in one subsystem (the leading system) may lead to tipping in another (the following system), in a so-called tipping cascade (Dekker et al., 2018). This rises the possibility of domino effects, causing the climate system to collapse while the threshold of one subsystem only has been crossed (Klose et al., 2021). However, the collapse of one subsystem may also stabilize others (