- Born:
- September 21, 1931, Shingu, Ehime prefecture, Japan (age 95)
- Awards And Honors:
- Nobel Prize (2021)
Manabe Syukuro
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Who is Manabe Syukuro?
Syukuro Manabe (born in Shingu, Japan, September 21, 1931) is a meteorologist and Nobel laureate. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2021 with Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi for his work in modeling Earthâs climate, variability quantification, and global warming prediction. Manabe has dual citizenship in Japan and the United States.
After receiving his Ph.D. in 1958 from the University of Tokyo, he became a research meteorologist at the U.S. Weather Bureau. In 1963, he joined the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). Manabe developed the first credible three-dimensional climate model in 1967. In 1975, Manabe co-authored a paper that predicted that doubling atmospheric carbon concentrations would result in an average temperature increase in the troposphere of between 2.3 and 2.93 °C (4.1 and 5.3 °F).
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What field of science does Manabe Syukuro work in?
Syukuro Manabe is a meteorologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2021. His work involves modeling Earthâs climate, quantifying variability, and predicting global warming. After earning his Ph.D. in meteorology in 1958, he became a research meteorologist at the U.S. Weather Bureau (later the National Weather Service), where he explored the use of physics in developing weather models.
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What is Manabe Syukuro best known for in meteorology?
Syukuro Manabe is best known for his pioneering work in meteorology, particularly for developing the world's first credible three-dimensional climate model in 1967. This model, though simplified, effectively examined climate variability and global warming scenarios. In 1969, he and Kirk Bryan created the first general circulation model coupling the ocean and atmosphere.
His 1975 paper with Richard Wetherald used the model to predict that doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide would increase troposphere temperatures by 2.3 to 2.93 °C, which aligned well with later, more complex models. In 2021, Manabe received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his foundational progress in modeling Earthâs climate and predicting global warming.
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How did Manabe Syukuro's research help us understand climate change?
Syukuro Manabe significantly advanced climate change understanding through his pioneering climate models. In 1967, he developed the first credible three-dimensional climate model, and in 1969, with Kirk Bryan, he created the first general circulation model coupling the ocean and atmosphere. These models, though simplified, effectively examined climate variability and global warming scenarios, establishing relationships between greenhouse gases and temperature.
His 1975 paper, co-authored with Richard Wetherald, predicted a tropospheric temperature increase of 2.3 to 2.93 °C with a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide, aligning well with later, more complex models. This work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2021 and other accolades, solidifying his foundational role in climate science.
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What types of models did Manabe Syukuro develop to study the Earth's climate?
Syukuro Manabe developed the worldâs first credible three-dimensional climate model of the atmosphere in 1967. In 1969, he and Kirk Bryan produced the first general circulation model that coupled the ocean and atmosphere. These models calculated values of environmental variables at different levels in the atmosphere and examined climate variability and global warming scenarios. In 1975, Manabe's general circulation model gauged the climateâs sensitivity to carbon dioxide concentrations.
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What major honors or awards has Manabe Syukuro received for his work?
Meteorologist Manabe Syukuro won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2021 with Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi for work on climate modeling and global warming prediction.
Other major honors and awards that Manabe has received include:
* Blue Planet Prize (1992)
* Roger Revelle Medal from the American Geophysical Union (1993)
* Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2018)1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Manabe Syukuro (born September 21, 1931, Shingu, Ehime prefecture, Japan) is a meteorologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2021 for the foundational progress he and German oceanographer Klaus Hasselmann made in modeling Earthâs climate, quantifying variability, and predicting global warming. Manabe and Hasselmann shared the prize with Italian physicist Giorgio Parisi. Manabe holds dual citizenship in Japan and the United States.
Manabe received a bachelorâs degree in meteorology in 1953 from the University of Tokyo. He went on to earn masterâs and doctorate degrees in meteorology from the same institution. After earning a Ph.D. in 1958, he became a research meteorologist at the U.S. Weather Bureau (later the National Weather Service), where he explored the use of physics in developing weather models. Manabe joined the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), a national research laboratory, in 1963. The GFDL began its collaboration with Princeton University in 1967 as part of the universityâs Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Manabe relocated to help lead the program that year, and in 1968 he joined the faculty at Princeton, where he served as a lecturer until 1997. He became the universityâs senior meteorologist in 2005.
Manabe developed the worldâs first credible three-dimensional climate model of the atmosphere in 1967. Two years later he and American oceanographer Kirk Bryan produced the first general circulation model that coupled the ocean and atmosphere. Values of several environmental variables (such as temperature, salinity, density, and the growth and retreat of pack ice) were calculated for grid points spaced 500 km (about 310 miles) apart at nine different levels in the atmosphere over a 60-year model run. The model was not complex by modern standardsâit simplified the atmosphere into a single vertical column and made broad assumptions about topography and cloud coverâyet it became a useful tool for examining seasonal climate variability and global warming scenarios, including the relationships between insolation and the vertical movement of air masses and between rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and temperature.
Manabeâs general circulation model was used to gauge the climateâs sensitivity to carbon dioxide concentrations in 1975 in a paper he authored with American meteorologist Richard Wetherald. It predicted that doubling atmospheric carbon concentrations from 300 to 600 parts per million would result in an average temperature increase in the troposphere of between 2.3 and 2.93 °C (4.1 and 5.3 °F). These results compared well to later, more-complex general circulation modelsâwhich forecast temperature increases of between 2.5 and 4 °C (4.5 and 7.2 °F) under similar circumstancesâsuggesting that the simplicity of Manabeâs model did not hold it back from being an effective predictive tool.
Manabe is the recipient of the Blue Planet Prize (1992), the American Geophysical Unionâs Roger Revelle Medal (1993), and the Crafoord Prize (2018), awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Manabe also authored the book Beyond Global Warming (2020) with American atmospheric scientist Anthony Broccoli.