Yannick completed his undergraduate studies in Göttingen, Germany, in mathematics and physics with a focus on stochastics. Afterwards, he obtained a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Leiden University with a research project under the supervision of Arjen Doelman. During that project, he investigated the effect of a stochastic term on the bifurcation behaviour of a system of ordinary differential equations, which seamlessly connects to his current research on rate‑ and noise‑tipping.

Research Project: The impact of rate of change and noise

The aim of this project is to get more rigorous understanding of rate- and noise-tipping. These are different from the traditional notion of tipping caused by a bifurcation, hence due to a change in the structure of the stationary solutions to a differential equation under a parameter change. In dynamical systems with a stochastic component, noise-tipping denotes the event of the system being pushed out of a basin of attraction due to stochastic fluctuations. This is of undisputable relevance in climate modelling, since it allows for the inclusion of the fast weather components as a noise term without the computational challenges of a deterministic system of similar resolution. We speak of rate-tipping when the speed at which a parameter of the system changes determines the final outcome, typically related to the competition between the rate of change and the system’s ability to adapt to changing conditions.