Three Laureates share
this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies of chaotic and apparently
random phenomena. Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of our
knowledge of the Earth’s climate and how humanity influences it. Giorgio Parisi
is rewarded for his revolutionary contributions to the theory of disordered
materials and random processes.
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The Royal Swedish Academy
of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021
“for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex
physical systems” with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe, Princeton
University, USA and Klaus Hasselmann, Max Planck Institute for
Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany “for the physical modelling of Earth’s
climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global
warming” and the other half to Giorgio Parisi, Sapienza University
of Rome, Italy “for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and
fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales”
Complex systems are characterised by randomness and disorder and are
difficult to understand. This year’s Prize recognises new methods
for describing them and predicting their long-term behaviour.
One complex system of vital importance to humankind is Earth’s
climate. Syukuro Manabe demonstrated how increased levels of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to increased temperatures at
the surface of the Earth. In the 1960s, he led the development of
physical models of the Earth’s climate and was the first person to
explore the interaction between radiation balance and the vertical
transport of air masses. His work laid the foundation for the
development of current climate models.
About ten years later, Klaus Hasselmann created a model that
links together weather and climate, thus answering the question of
why climate models can be reliable despite weather being changeable
and chaotic. He also developed methods for identifying specific
signals, fingerprints, that both natural phenomena and human
activities imprint in the climate. His methods have been used to
prove that the increased temperature in the atmosphere is due to
human emissions of carbon dioxide.
Around 1980, Giorgio Parisi discovered hidden patterns in
disordered complex materials. His discoveries are among the most
important contributions to the theory of complex systems. They make
it possible to understand and describe many different and apparently
entirely random materials and phenomena, not only in physics but
also in other, very different areas, such as mathematics, biology,
neuroscience and machine learning.
“The discoveries being recognised this year demonstrate that our
knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation,
based on a rigorous analysis of observations. This year’s Laureates
have all contributed to us gaining deeper insight into the
properties and evolution of complex physical systems,” says Thors
Hans Hansson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.
Syukuro Manabe, born 1931 in Shingu, Japan. Ph.D. 1957 from
University of Tokyo, Japan. Senior Meteorologist at Princeton
University, USA.
Klaus Hasselmann, born 1931 in Hamburg, Germany. Ph.D. 1957 from
University of Göttingen, Germany. Professor, Max Planck Institute for
Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany.
Giorgio Parisi, born 1948 in Rome. Italy. Ph.D. 1970 from Sapienza
University of Rome, Italy. Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Prize amount: 10 million Swedish kronor, with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe
and Klaus Hasselmann and the other half to Giorgio Parisi.
Release Press Secretary, The Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences