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SIBF Recognizes Sudanese Historian Youssef Fadl as Figure of the Year

File photo from Sharjah International Book Fair, northeast of Dubai, 31 October 2018 (AFP)
File photo from Sharjah International Book Fair, northeast of Dubai, 31 October 2018 (AFP)
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SIBF Recognizes Sudanese Historian Youssef Fadl as Figure of the Year

File photo from Sharjah International Book Fair, northeast of Dubai, 31 October 2018 (AFP)
File photo from Sharjah International Book Fair, northeast of Dubai, 31 October 2018 (AFP)

The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has announced Sudanese historian Yusuf Fadl Hasan as ‘Cultural Personality of the Year’ for its upcoming 41st Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2022).

Hasan is being recognized for his contributions to the field of history and documentation of the nation’s developmental journey in political, cultural and scientific fields, in addition to his substantial efforts in promoting the research and documentation movement in Africa and Asia. He also published more than 30 books.

SBA said the selection of Youssef Fadl is part of its vision to honor distinguished figures of thought, literature, and history, whose efforts represented an added value to the Arabic book library in all fields.

It also serves SIBF’s message calling for introducing, pioneering, and influencing figures in the Arabic culture to younger generations.

Ahmed Al Ameri, chairman of SBA, said, “SBA’s efforts echo the vision of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council member and ruler of Sharjah, of celebrating distinguished intellectual and creative personalities as pillars of sustainable cultural development. The Arab cultural world needs the invaluable work of distinguished figures like Prof. Yusuf Fadl Hasan to advance our realities and build our future.”

“Sudan has constantly enriched Arab culture through leading contributions by prominent individuals in various fields. The history of Arabic cultures is a witness on esteemed Sudanese intellects, researchers, novelists, and poets who enriched the Arabic library,” he added.

“Naming Prof. Yusuf the Cultural Personality of the Year is a tribute to more than 60 years of vital work in research, documentation and studies of the African and Asian continents,” Al Ameri concluded.

Born in Al Mahmiyya, Sudan, in 1932, Fadl received Bachelor degree in General Arts from Khartoum University in 1956, and Bachelor's degree with honors in History from London University in 1959, and PhD in History from the University of London in 1964. He served as a lecturer at the History department at the University of Khartoum.

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Scientists Drill Nearly 2 Miles Down to Pull 1.2 Million-year-old Ice Core from Antarctic

An international team of scientists announced successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet - The AP
An international team of scientists announced successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet - The AP
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Scientists Drill Nearly 2 Miles Down to Pull 1.2 Million-year-old Ice Core from Antarctic

An international team of scientists announced successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet - The AP
An international team of scientists announced successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet - The AP

An international team of scientists announced Thursday they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2 miles (2.8 kilometers) to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice they say is at least 1.2 million years old.

Analysis of the ancient ice is expected to show how Earth's atmosphere and climate have evolved. That should provide insight into how Ice Age cycles have changed, and may help in understanding how atmospheric carbon changed climate, they said, The AP reported.

“Thanks to the ice core we will understand what has changed in terms of greenhouse gases, chemicals and dusts in the atmosphere,” said Carlo Barbante, an Italian glaciologist and coordinator of Beyond EPICA, the project to obtain the core. Barbante also directs the Polar Science Institute at Italy's National Research Council.

The same team previously drilled a core about 800,000 years old. The latest drilling went 2.8 kilometers (about 1.7 miles) deep, with a team of 16 scientists and support personnel drilling each summer over four years in average temperatures of about minus-35 Celsius (minus-25.6 Fahrenheit).

Italian researcher Federico Scoto was among the glaciologists and technicians who completed the drilling at the beginning of January at a location called Little Dome C, near Concordia Research Station.

“It was a great a moment for us when we reached the bedrock,” Scoto said. Isotope analysis gave the ice's age as at least 1.2 million years old, he said.

Both Barbante and Scoto said that thanks to the analysis of the ice core of the previous Epica campaign they have assessed that concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, even during the warmest periods of the last 800,000 years, have never exceeded the levels seen since the Industrial Revolution began.

“Today we are seeing carbon dioxide levels that are 50% above the highest levels we’ve had over the last 800,000 years," Barbante said.

The European Union funded Beyond EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) with support from nations across the continent. Italy is coordinating the project.

The announcement was exciting to Richard Alley, a climate scientist at Penn State who was not involved with the project and who was recently awarded the National Medal of Science for his career studying ice sheets.

Alley said advancements in studying ice cores are important because they help scientists better understand the climate conditions of the past and inform their understanding of humans’ contributions to climate change in the present. He added that reaching the bedrock holds added promise because scientists may learn more about Earth’s history not directly related to the ice record itself.

“This is truly, truly, amazingly fantastic,” Alley said. “They will learn wonderful things.”