Is our planet and its global climate system more resilient than we think? 

Or are we close to tipping her vital systems?

The Earth system is full of surprises. That fascinates me, and it worries me at the same time. Right now, we're running uncontrolled experiments with climate and land-use change on a planet we don't fully understand, one whose vital systems may shift abruptly and irreversibly once self-reinforcing feedback loops push them too far. 

I spend my days thinking about how the ocean, atmosphere and the world's forest keep each other in balance and what could happen if that balance suddenly gets disrupted. My PhD research focuses on two such vital Earth systems under unprecedented human pressure: the Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC; of which the Gulf Stream is a well-known part). I am interested in their (hidden) connections and whether their interactions, and human disturbances like deforestation, may push each other closer to, or further from, their potential tipping points. 

To answer these questions, I like to draw on multiple disciplines, working alongside ecologists, (climate) physicists, mathematicians, and social scientists. I combine detailed climate simulations with simpler, more conceptual models to explore these dynamics from different angles. To trace the physical connections between the Amazon and the Atlantic, I use a moisture-tracking tool called UTrack, which follows atmospheric moisture as it travels between and across ocean and forest. 

My PhD is part of EMBRACER, a Dutch research programme on Earth's climate feedbacks. I'm always open for collaborations and happy to talk to journalists, students, or anyone curious or worried about the Amazon rainforest, climate tipping points and planetary resilience.