Scientists Nicholas Shackleton of Britain and Gordon Hisashi Sato of the United States have been awarded the international Blue Planet Prize for 2005 by the Tokyo-based Asahi Glass Foundation, the foundation announced Monday.
Shackleton, 68, a professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences, was recognized for his contributions to palaeoclimatology, particularly in identifying interglacial climatic cycles and the role of carbon dioxide, as well as changes in the Earth's orbit that cause them.
Sato, 77, was credited for developing a new mangrove-planting technology in Eritrea in northeast Africa. The mangroves helped new ecosystems develop, indicating it is possible to build a sustainable environment in one of the poorest areas of the world.
The Blue Planet Prize has been awarded annually since 1992 to two individuals or organizations making major contributions to global environmental conservation. The winners for 2005 were selected from among 129 recommended candidates worldwide.
Each recipient will be awarded a certificate of merit, a commemorative trophy and 50 million yen at a ceremony Oct. 19 in Tokyo.