9:10 AM - 9:30 AM
[U02-01] The profound influence of Dr. Syukuro Manabe in the understanding of climate variability and change
★Invited Papers
Keywords:Climate change, Carbon dioxide, Global warming, Syukuro Manabe, 2021 Nobel Physics Prize, Climate models
Dr. Manabe’s famous 1967 paper (Manabe, Syukuro, and Richard T Wetherald, 1967: Thermal equilibrium of the atmosphere with a given distribution of relative humidity. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 24(3), 241-259) set the course for climate modeling with a one-dimensional radiative-convective model of the Earth’s climate. Important as this paper is in climate science with the most citations and recognized by the 2021 Nobel Physics Prize awarded to Dr. Manabe, it was followed by his pioneering development of global models that synthesized dynamics, physics and thermodynamics. The models captured the climate system in a physically consistent manner, and simulated with high fidelity the major features of the atmosphere and atmosphere-ocean interactions. We cite 3 examples from Dr. Manabe’s research with the innovative models to determine the sensitivity of the climate system to increase in carbon dioxide: (a) Stratospheric cooling and amplification of warming in high latitudes; (b) Climate variability and global warming; (c) Tropical storms. The results opened up new frontiers of knowledge, yielding deep insights into climate variability and change. The underpinnings from his original works have provided the basis for understanding anthropogenic climate change, presenting science-based information to policymakers for adaptation and mitigation planning.