Roger Revelle

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Keeling curve created with the support of Roger Revelle , named after Charles David Keeling , a student of Revelle

Roger Randall Dougan Revelle (born March 7, 1909 in Seattle , Washington , † July 15, 1991 in San Diego , California ) was an American oceanographer and climatologist . He was one of the first scientists to undertake significant research into the increase in carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere and the dangers it poses for the future of mankind.

academic career

Roger Revelle grew up in Pasadena (California) , studied geology at Pomona College in Claremont (California) and graduated in 1929 with a Bachelor of Arts . From 1931 he worked at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and in 1936 he became a Ph.D. ( philosophiae doctor ) in oceanography from the University of California, Berkeley . During World War II he served in the US Navy, after which he was head of the geophysical department in the Office of Naval Research from 1946 to 1948 . From 1950 to 1964 he was again at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as a professor of oceanography. On the basis of his research there, he predicted in 1956 that the release of carbon dioxide by humans would have profound effects on the global climate in about 50 years, a prediction that could ultimately be observed.

Together with Hans E. Suess , he demonstrated for the first time in 1957 that part of the carbon dioxide from the use of fossil fuels is accumulated in the atmosphere because the oceans cannot absorb everything.

Since 1954 he was politically involved in promoting the establishment of the University of California, San Diego , and in 1959 construction began on the university. Revelle succeeded in binding respected scientists to this university, he also hoped to overcome the separation of the natural sciences from the humanities and social sciences that had been customary until then. In 1957 Revelle was elected to the National Academy of Sciences , 1958 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 1960 to the American Philosophical Society .

In 1964 he went to Harvard University , where he was Professor of Population Policy and Director of the Center for Population Studies . In 1976 he retired and lived in La Jolla near San Diego until his death in 1991 .

In 1986 he received the Balzan Prize for his contributions to oceanography and climatology.

The Revelle factor , which describes the solubility of atmospheric CO 2 in seawater, was named after him. In honor of Revelle, a research ship was also named that belongs to the US Navy and is available for various research activities. The same applies to the Revelle Inlet , a bay on the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Roger Revelle Medal, awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union since 1992, to honor outstanding scientific achievements in the field of climatology, was also named after him.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Time: One big greenhouse , May 28, 1956.
  2. NZZ: Temperature rise, greenhouse effect and the role of Switzerland: These are the most important facts about climate change , November 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Resume on the San Diego History Center website

Web links