A place for stabilization alongside tipping cascades: the AMOC-cryosphere system

Abstract: The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and cryosphere are central to tipping-point research, where their interactions are typically framed as pathways for cascading transitions. Here, I review evidence that these interactions can also oppose change, affecting its magnitude and timing or, in some cases, whether a transition occurs at all. I argue that a more complete assessment of tipping risk requires progress on three fronts: systematic attention to stabilizing alongside destabilizing dynamics, conceptual frameworks that accommodate competing and context-dependent effects, and methods to detect, anticipate, and attribute stabilization.