Coming to a theatre near youTipping points: a bit like if a ball crests the top of a hill and starts rolling down and cannot stop. Six tipping points "likely" to be crossed soon according to the research published in Science are: Greenland Ice Sheet collapse West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse Collapse of ocean circulation in the polar region of the North Atlantic Coral reef die off in the low latitudes Sudden thawing of permafrost in the Northern regions Abrupt sea ice loss in the Barents Sea.