One of Zimbabwe’s leading climate scientists, Prof Desmond
Manatsa, has won a global prize for his distinguished research work on climate
change.
He clinched the “Distinguished Researcher of the Year
Award, 2019 in Climate Science Field of Ozone Impacts on the Climate” of the
World Research Council.
“The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Prof
Desmond Manatsa, recently scooped the World Research Peace Award (RULA) for
recognition as the best researcher in Ozone Impact on the Climate in the Field
of Climate Science for the year 2019, by the World Research Council, India,”
read part of a Bindura University of Science Education statement.
“Bindura University of Science Education is proud of this
achievement and applauds hard work and commitment among its members.
Congratulations, Makorokoto.”
The World Peace Award recognises distinguished
contributions in the subject area of high potential global impact through a
thorough review of published work, open source contribution and pedagogy among
other academic attributes.
PEACE is a foundation in the Far East.
The award is based on high impact publications in the field
that are determined by citations received against those publications.
The award includes a plaque, trophy and citation, including
a lifetime free membership to the foundation. The award was presented to Prof
Manatsa by Syed Abuthahir, president of World Research Council. Prof Manatsa’s
award-winning research was related to the lower stratospheric impacts on the El
Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean which is
the most prominent source of global climate changes.
His research basically speaks about the physics involved,
which could lead to better rainfall and temperature predictions of a long- term
nature.
His research on the impact of the ozone on the climate
dates back to his PhD days when he researched on the ozone hole’s impact on the
climate of Southern Africa when he was studying at Tokyo University in Japan.
The results of this research were published in the journal Nature, the number
one global journal in Geosciences. In simple terms, ozone is a shield high in
the sky protecting us from potentially lethal solar radiation.
Prof Manatsa and his team found that when the ozone hole
develops in certain seasons, temperatures are observed to rise significantly
and while drying the region.
But when the “ozone hole” fills up considerably, the
sub-region becomes cooler and wetter. These novel findings constitute the
strongest evidence yet that ozone has a significant direct impact on climate in
Southern Africa.
Prof Manatsa studied at the University of Cape Town in
South Africa and Russian State University of Hydrometeorology, where he
graduated with top honours.
“It’s quite a great pleasure to receive such a prestigious
international award,” he told The Herald in an interview. It really shows what
we Zimbabweans are capable of achieving even under tough economic conditions.
If resources are not constraining then the sky is the limit for Zimbabweans.
“I just want to encourage my fellow academics to also
navigate the international waters. Our intellect matches international
standards. These international awards speak for themselves.”
Recently, he and his colleague, Prof Geoffrey Mukwada of
the University of Free State, made a startling discovery when they revealed the
existence of an ozone hole over South Africa that is centred above the Free
State Province. These findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Earth
Science.
Prof Manatsa is the Dean of the Faculty of Science and
Engineering at Bindura University of Science Education and chairman of Africa
Alliance for Disaster Risk Institutions (AADRI), an affiliate of Japan-based
Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Institutions
(GADRI). Herald
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