Computer modelling of the Earth’s climate has been announced as part of the winning works at the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics event in Stockholm, Sweden.

Scientists Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann have been recognised for their work into climate modelling that can predict how global warming changes the environment.

Further work by Giorgio Parisi focused on random materials and phenomena, including the behaviour of complex systems at the microscopic level.

The Royal Swedish Academy announced that Manabe and Hasselmann won for their “physics modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”

The three winners will share a pot of 10 million krona (£842,611) in prize money.

Manabe’s work looked at carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere and its negative effect on global temperatures, ultimately laying the foundations for current climate models.

Hasselmann went on the create a model that linked weather and climate, helping explain why climate models can be reliable despite the seemingly chaotic nature of the weather.

BREAKING NEWS:
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2021 #NobelPrize in Physics to Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi “for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems.” pic.twitter.com/At6ZeLmwa5

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2021

The panel commented that the work from the pair “laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earth’s climate and how humanity influences it”.

As climate change becomes more prevalent, the difficult task of monitoring it becomes ever more important. A paper from May pointed to the role that data from Earth Observation satellites can also play.

The paper, co-authored by Professor Marian Scott from the University of Glasgow’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, discussed how captured data could help nations meet their stated goals to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce global warming, as brokered in the Paris Agreement.

Scotland is already being recognised as a country to turn to when looking at ways to leverage effective climate and sustainability initiatives.

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Not only is Glasgow the setting for the COP26 climate meeting in November, but three Scottish climate tech firms were selected to participate in the second cohort of Tech Nation’s Net Zero growth programme in September.

ACT Blade, Earth Blox and ZUoS were chosen to take part in the programme designed to support promising climate tech companies accelerating the UK’s path to net zero.

Selected firms selected for the Net Zero 2.0 programme were assessed by 40 specialists across key industries and sectors, according to Tech Nation, with each firm judged on its scalability and potential to help support the UK in reaching net zero goals.

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