idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
As a child, Dr Brigadier Libanda was fascinated by the weather report on TV. Today, he researches climate change and searches for solutions to this global problem - currently on a Humboldt Foundation fellowship at the University of Würzburg.
Climate change is one of the central challenges of our time: "If we learn to understand climate change, it will put us in a unique position for the future. For example, we can develop early warning systems, thereby reacting better and significantly reducing potential damage," says Brigadier Libanda. With a fellowship from the Humboldt Foundation, he is working at Julius Maximilians University (JMU) Würzburg in climatology with Professor Heiko Paeth.
A central aspect of climate change is how a global shift towards renewable energy sources can be reconciled with the aspirations of many countries towards industrialization and technologization. This is precisely what Brigadier Libanda is researching together with Paeth using the example of his home country Zambia.
"Although Zambia has made a lot of progress in recent years, energy poverty is still a problem there. At the same time, our climate system must be protected, which is why renewable energies are crucial," the climate researcher knows.
Studies on wind speed in Zambia
Specifically, Libanda is looking at wind speed in the African country. This is an important indicator for the efficient use of wind power plants. They found out that wind speed is increasing: “This is surprising at first, because the increase in surface roughness caused by progressive urbanization should actually have the opposite effect.”
One possible explanation for the increase could be massive changes preceding in the circulation mechanisms of the air masses. A warming of the Earth's surface creates atmospheric pressure gradients, which in turn affect wind speeds.
However, these increasing wind speeds still do not make Zambia the perfect place for largescale wind farms: "Our analyses show that the wind speeds are too low for this. However, wind power makes sense on a smaller scale, especially in rural areas. Overall, we recommend a mix of renewables for Zambia to overcome energy poverty."
While the first paper dealt with the current state and forecasts for the future, Brigadier Libanda is currently working on a second publication, which will deal with the country's energy past.
With the Humboldt Fellowship to JMU
To this end, he will be at JMU until the end of February 2022. Libanda became aware of JMU and Heiko Paeth through a recommendation by Professor Andreas Fink from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: "I was certain that our fields of work fit together very well and that a collaboration would therefore be extremely promising," says Libanda.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's fellowship offer had already piqued his interest during his bachelor's degree: "The special thing about the program for me is that you are free to choose both your research topics and the German researchers you want to work with. That's why I'm very happy that my application was successful."
He says that his time in Würzburg was also a great experience away from the university: "Although my German still leaves something to be desired, the people are very helpful, and I feel really at home."
The climate researcher’s CV
Meteorologist Brigadier Libanda mainly researches weather and climate extremes in sub-Saharan Africa. His focus is on observations and forecasts. Before coming to JMU, Libanda most recently had been working for four years at the University of Edenburg in Zambia.
He trained at some of the best climate science institutions in Zambia, China, Scotland, England, and Germany. As a climate change specialist, he has been involved in various projects, including for the United Nations.
Dr. Brigadier Libanda, Lehrstuhl für Lehrstuhl für Geomorphologie, brigadier.libanda@uni-wuerzburg.de
Modelling wind speed across Zambia: Implications for wind energy. International Journal of Climatology. https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joc.7826
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