And the 2021 Nobel prize for Physics goes to....

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on climate models, particularly in light of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann for their work on the physical modeling of Earth's climate and its variability. Manabe's development of a one-dimensional climate model in 1967 established the role of carbon dioxide in global temperature rise, a concept that some participants argue was previously explored in the 19th century. The conversation highlights a perceived lack of objectivity in discussions about climate science and the need for a more scientific approach to Earth physics. Additionally, Giorgio Parisi received recognition for his contributions to understanding disorder and fluctuations in physical systems. The discussion reflects on the significance of these advancements in modeling complex systems rather than the models themselves.
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It's a hot topic, which is getting even hotter as the years go by.
 
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DennisN said:
It's a hot topic, which is getting even hotter as the years go by.
It gets hotter and hotter in both metaphorical and literal sense.
 
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Fascinating. As a chemistry student, I predict that the 2021 Nobel Prize for Chemistry will go to a biologist.
 
Here's the Physics Today article:
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/journal/pto

Hopefully, people will soon leave their biaises and treat Earth physics the same way as other physics application, i.e. with objectivity.

Many years ago, I had to leave this forum because of that problem (lack of objectivity on the issue).
 
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Blackberg said:
Many years ago, I had to leave this forum because of that problem (lack of objectivity on the issue).
Please check your PMs. Thanks.
 
Somehow I have problems understanding what was novel in Manabe's work:

Manabe, of Princeton University, developed a one-dimensional climate model to investigate the balance of incoming radiation from the Sun, IR from Earth, convection in the atmosphere, and the latent heat of water vapor. His 1967 framework verified that carbon dioxide was the primary source of rising global temperatures.

To me it sounds like modeling of a greenhouse effect. Trick is, as far as I am aware it was already done in 19th century. Could be his model was much more detailed, could be I am misreading the statement, could be the statement is unfortunately vague or too general, but something doesn't compute.
 
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Two people share half the prize for climate models, the other half goes to Parisi. Climate is probably just a better publicity generator than "theory of disordered materials and random processes."
 
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I think that the prize was awarded for the techniques that they developed for modeling complex systems, not the actual models themselves

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Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann “for the physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”

Giorgio Parisi “for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales
My emphasis.
 
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