Critical transitions occur in various parts of large-scale systems in ecology, economy or climate (eg.: Lenton et al., 2008; Scheffer et al., 2009). Such phenomena can be described as tipping events. However, oftentimes, the individual tipping elements are not isolated systems, but interact on a larger scale via complex dynamics (Kriegler et al., 2009; Brummitt et al., 2015).
In this presentation, I will introduce the modelling framework “pycascades” which simulates tipping elements on complex networks as linearly coupled systems of ordinary differential equations.
I will compare our theoretical insights to spatially extended systems such as to the moisture- recycling network of the Amazon rainforest. Another prominent example of interacting tipping elements is the interaction of climate system components like the Greenland Ice Sheet, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, the Amazon rainforest and the El-Niño Southern Oscillation.