Syukuro Manabe
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computer
s to simulate global climate change
and natural climate variations.
, first in Washington, DC and later in Princeton, New Jersey
, Manabe worked with director Joseph Smagorinsky
to develop three dimensional
models of the atmosphere
. In 1967 he and Richard Wetherald demonstrated that increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentrations would increase the altitude at which the earth radiated heat to space. In 1969 Manabe and Kirk Bryan published the first simulations of the climate of a planet with coupled ocean and atmosphere models, establishing the role of oceanic heat transport in determining global climate. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Manabe's research group published seminal papers using these models to explore the sensitivity of Earth's climate
to changing greenhouse gas
concentrations. These papers formed a major part of the first global assessments of climate change published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
.
Other important work done by Manabe included the suggestion that climate might have more than one stable state (Manabe and Stouffer, 1988) and the demonstration that switches between such states could be induced in a relatively realistic model by melting ice cap
s (Manabe et al., 1995).
from the University of Tokyo
in 1958 and came to the United States to work at
the General Circulation Research Section of the U.S. Weather Bureau, now the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
of NOAA, continuing until 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he worked at the Frontier Research System for
Global Change in Japan serving as Director of the Global Warming Research Division. In 2002 he returned to the United States as a visiting research collaborator at the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Princeton University
.
, and a foreign member of Academia Europaea
and the Royal Society of Canada
. In 1992, he was the first recipient of the Blue Planet Prize of the Asahi Foundation. In 1997 Manabe was awarded the Volvo Environmental Prize from the Volvo Foundation. Manabe has also been honored with the American Meteorological Society
’s Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
, the American Geophysical Union
’s Revelle Medal, and the Milutin Milankovitch Medal from the European Geophysical Society.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s to simulate global climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and natural climate variations.
Scientific accomplishments
Working at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics LaboratoryGeophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...
, first in Washington, DC and later in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, Manabe worked with director Joseph Smagorinsky
Joseph Smagorinsky
Joseph Smagorinsky was an American meteorologist and the first director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.- Early life :...
to develop three dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
models of the atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
. In 1967 he and Richard Wetherald demonstrated that increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
concentrations would increase the altitude at which the earth radiated heat to space. In 1969 Manabe and Kirk Bryan published the first simulations of the climate of a planet with coupled ocean and atmosphere models, establishing the role of oceanic heat transport in determining global climate. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Manabe's research group published seminal papers using these models to explore the sensitivity of Earth's climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
to changing greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
concentrations. These papers formed a major part of the first global assessments of climate change published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
.
Other important work done by Manabe included the suggestion that climate might have more than one stable state (Manabe and Stouffer, 1988) and the demonstration that switches between such states could be induced in a relatively realistic model by melting ice cap
Ice cap
An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area . Masses of ice covering more than 50 000 km² are termed an ice sheet....
s (Manabe et al., 1995).
Career
Born in 1931, Manabe received a Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
in 1958 and came to the United States to work at
the General Circulation Research Section of the U.S. Weather Bureau, now the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...
of NOAA, continuing until 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he worked at the Frontier Research System for
Global Change in Japan serving as Director of the Global Warming Research Division. In 2002 he returned to the United States as a visiting research collaborator at the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Awards
Manabe is a member of the United States National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, and a foreign member of Academia Europaea
Academia Europaea
Academia Europæa is a European non-governmental scientific academy founded in 1988. Its members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. It publishes European Review through Cambridge Journals....
and the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
. In 1992, he was the first recipient of the Blue Planet Prize of the Asahi Foundation. In 1997 Manabe was awarded the Volvo Environmental Prize from the Volvo Foundation. Manabe has also been honored with the American Meteorological Society
American Meteorological Society
The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
’s Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal is the highest award for atmospheric science of the American Meteorological Society. It is presented to individual scientists, who receive a medal...
, the American Geophysical Union
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
’s Revelle Medal, and the Milutin Milankovitch Medal from the European Geophysical Society.
Trivia
- The research group started by Manabe is today known as the GFDL Climate Dynamics and Prediction Group.
- Manabe and Bryan's pioneering work in the development of the first global climate modelGlobal climate modelA General Circulation Model is a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean and based on the Navier–Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms for various energy sources . These equations are the basis for complex computer programs commonly...
s has been selected as one of the Top Ten Breakthroughs to have occurred in NOAA's first 200 years. http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/breakthroughs/climate_model/welcome.html#testing - In honor of his retirement from NOAA / GFDLGeophysical Fluid Dynamics LaboratoryThe Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...
, a three day scientific meeting was held in Princeton, New JerseyPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
in March 1998. It was titled "Understanding Climate Change: A Symposium in honor of Syukuro Manabe"http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/aboutus/symposium/manabe/index.html - The 2005 annual meeting of American Meteorological SocietyAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
included a special Suki Manabe Symposium.http://ams.confex.com/ams/Annual2005/techprogram/program_259.htm#Session17310 - Syukuro Manabe home page from Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. - He warned of warming long before it was cool, newspaper article profile of Manabe (4 February 2007).