A new study warned the strong possibility of abrupt impacts linked to climate change that could shake society's infrastructure.
"Research has helped us begin to distinguish more imminent threats from those that are less likely to happen this century," James W.C. White, professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and chair of the committee that wrote the report, said, according to a National Academy of Sciences news release. "Evaluating climate changes and impacts in terms of their potential magnitude and the likelihood they will occur will help policymakers and communities make informed decisions about how to prepare for or adapt to them."
A number of climate change-related impacts can already be observed on the blue planet such as a decrease in ice coverage and rapidly disappearing species.
Little research has been conducted the immediate impact of climate change factors such as the "destabilization of the west Antarctic ice sheet."
Researchers were able to make predictions about what types of impacts are likely to occur within the next century.
The research team determined disruptions in ocean circulation and a rapid release in methane from melting permafrost or undersea ice are likely within the next 100 years or so.
The team believes the changes will really impact humans once they hit a "tipping point." Sea levels are rising slowly but surely, and will most likely inflict damage on man-made infrastructure in the near future. Even a slight increase in ocean acidity could kill of a number of species, resulting in dramatic ecosystem changes.
"Right now we don't know what many of these thresholds are," White said. "But with better information, we will be able to anticipate some major changes before they occur and help reduce the potential consequences."
The researchers hope to develop a "tipping point" warning system that would require extensive monitoring of land and satellite devices. The team hopes to determine when the tipping point will occur, of it hasn't already happened.
