The Roger Revelle Medal is given annually to one honoree in recognition of outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences, atmosphere-ocean coupling, atmosphere-land coupling, biogeochemical cycles, climate or related aspects of the Earth system.
The Revelle Medal is named in honor of Roger Revelle, an oceanographer who made substantial contributions to the awareness of global climate change. Revelle served as an AGU section president for the Ocean Sciences section (1956–1959). He was renowned for his significant contributions to the study of oceanography, including: pioneering work on carbon dioxide balance in the oceans and its effect on climate modification, fostering oceanographic exploration presaging plate tectonics, observations on the biological effects of radiation in the marine environment, and his studies of human population growth and global food supplies