Global Tipping Points

Module overview

This module will explore how humans have been impacting the planet over recent millennia, and how more recently the increased impacts are leading to tipping points in many global systems, from biogeophysical to social. As such the module will discuss a range of contexts and approaches, including palaeoscience, an understanding of what a tipping point is and how we can measure/define it. It will cover the raft of recent human impacts, how they are creating change in the natural, social and built world, and what potential solutions exist.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Students will engage in prescribed (and self-directed) reading around each major topic and undertake research which will form the baseline for seminars. Seminars will be group led, and students will be given time to prepare and then present on a topic within a set of wider debates, as collaborative peer learning tasks. Students will also be expected to engage in post session reading to consolidate your understanding.

Study time
Type	Hours
Independent Study	128
Teaching	22
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Journal Articles

Lewis & Maslin (2015). Defining the Anthropocene. Nature, 519, pp. 171-180.

Ruddiman (2007). The early anthropogenic hypothesis: challenges and responses. Reviews of Geophysics, 45, 2006RG000207.

Brovkin et al. (2021). Past abrupt changes, tipping points and cascading impacts in the Earth system. Nature Geoscience, 14, pp. 550-558.

Biggs et al. (2018). The Regime Shifts Database: a framework for analyzing regime shifts in social-ecological systems.. Ecology and Society, 23: 9.

Steffen et al. (2015). The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration. The Anthropocene Review, 2, pp. 81-98.

Rockstrom et al. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461, pp. 472-475.

Lenton (2011). Early warning of climate tipping points. Nature Climate Change, 1, pp. 201-209.

Montoya et al. (2018). Planetary Boundaries for Biodiversity: Implausible Science, Pernicious Policies. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 33, pp. 71-73.

Barnosky et al. (2012). Approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere. Nature, 486, pp. 52-58.

Steffen et al. (2011). The Anthropocene: From Global Change to Planetary Stewardship. Ambio, 40, pp. 739-761.

Scheffer et al. (2012). Anticipating critical transitions. Science, 338, pp. 344-348.

Textbooks

Roberts (2014). The Holocene: An Environmental History. Wiley Blackwell.

Diamond (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.. Viking Press.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Seminar	20%
Exam	40%
Essay	40%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External