Thomas J. Goreau, Ph.D.

Research

Project Details

One of Goreau's goals is to assist people from tropical regions in understanding, valuing and nourishing their unique marine habitats. To this end, he utilized his Pew award to establish grass-roots environmental management councils in the important reef areas of the Caribbean and to develop a bottom-up community management approach that confronts the deterioration of coral reef systems and promotes their official designation as marine protected areas. Goreau also continued his work on building artificial reefs using low voltage currents to accelerate growth rates of corals and sand-producing algae.

Biography

Thomas Goreau promotes coral reef protection by documenting stresses to reef ecosystems, identifying the causes of these stresses and proposing strategies to restore these species-rich and highly sensitive ecosystems. He launched the Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA) in 1993 as a coalition of action-oriented scientists, divers, environmentalists and other individuals and organizations who are concerned about coral reefs. GCRA focuses on issues related to global climate change, diseases, pollution, integrated coastal zone and watershed management, rapid assessment of reef health and restoration of coral reefs.

MORE INFORMATION

Global Coral Reef Alliance

CV

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Harvard University
1981: Biogeochemistry, Massachusetts, USA

Master of Science, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
1972: Planetary Astronomy, California, USA

Bachelor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1970: Planetary Physics, Massachusetts, USA

KEY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

International Symposium on Biotic Feedbacks in the Global Climate System
Rapporteur on Oceans

United Nations Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Environment and Development Negotiations
NGO Advisor on Coral Reefs

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
1992

KEY AWARDS & HONORS

Theodore M. Sperry Award
1998: Society for Ecological Restoration

Marine Fellow
1994: Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation

Visiting Professor and Researcher
1982: Fulbright Fellowship

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

• Goreau, T.J. 1997. Assessing coral reef health. Science 277:165-166
• Goreau, T.J. and R. L. Hayes. 1994. Coral bleaching and ocean "hot spots". Ambio 23:176-180
• Goreau T.J., L. Hayes, J.W. Clark, D.J. Basta and C.N. Robertson. 1993. Elevated sea surface temperatures correlate with Caribbean coral reef bleaching.. In: A global Warming Forum: Scientific, Economic and Legal Overview.. A Global Warming Forum: Scientific, Economic, and Legal Overview
• Goreau, T J. 1992. Bleaching and reef community change in Jamaica: 1951-1991. American Zoology 32:683-695