With an introduction by:

For almost half a century, Roger Revelle was a leader in the field of oceanography. Revelle trained as a geologist at Pomona College and at U.C. Berkeley. Then, in 1936, he received his Ph.D. in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As a young naval officer, he helped persuade the Navy to create the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to support basic research in oceanography and was the first head of ONR's geophysics branch. Revelle served for twelve years as the director of Scripps (1950-1961, 1963-1964), where he built up a fleet of research ships and initiated a decade of expeditions to the deep Pacific that challenged existing geological theory. Revelle's early work on the carbon cycle suggested that the sea could not absorb all the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels. He facilitated the first continuous measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide, leading to a long-term record that makes present-day discussions and research on global warming possible. Revelle kept the issue of increasing carbon dioxide levels before the public and spearheaded efforts to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of climate change. Revelle was a proponent of daring programs, like Mohole and the International Indian Ocean Expedition, that addressed fundamental scientific questions and pioneered international cooperation. In 1960, Revelle left Scripps for important post