Dr. Thomas J. Goreau
Dr. Thomas J. Goreau is a marine biologist promoting 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 has worked extensively on the coral reefs of Jamaica and continues to conduct research on the impacts of global climate change, pollution, and new diseases in reefs all across the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific. His current work focuses on coral reef restoration, fisheries restoration, shore line protection, renewable energy, community based coral reef management, mariculture, soil metabolism, and stabilization of global carbon dioxide.
Goreau’s father built rebreather diving gear (scuba) to explore the deep sea, and was the first diving marine scientist developing zonation of reefs and understanding coral/marine organisms. With his mother, Nora I. Goreau, the first Panamanian marine biologist, they continue to focus their research on coral reefs. The Goreau Family showed how coral reefs function and established their great sensitivity to environmental stress.
Goreau is President of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, a non-profit organization for coral reef protection and sustainable management, and Coordinator of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development Partnership in New Technologies for Small Island Developing States.
He developed the method to predict the location, timing, and severity of coral bleaching from satellite data with Ray Hayes. He holds patents with the late Wolf Hilbertz for new methods for preserving coral reefs from global warming and pollution, restoring marine ecosystems, shore protection, mariculture, and non-toxic methods of preserving wood from marine boring organisms, termites, rot, and fire, in order to increase the lifetime of wood and decrease logging. Goreau also continued his work on building artificial reefs using low voltage currents to accelerate growth rates of corals and sand-producing algae (Biorock Method).
Dr. Goreau works with tropical fishing communities around the world to restore their coral reefs and fisheries, especially the Kuna Indians of Panama, the only native people of the Americas who have preserved their cultural and political independence. He is also a hereditary leader of the Yolngu Dhuwa Aboriginal clan of Arnhem Land, Australia, who preserve the oldest creation myth in the world.
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Organization: Global Coral Reef Alliance
Books: He has published around 200 papers in all areas of coral reef ecology, and on global climate change, the global carbon cycle, stabilization of atmospheric CO2, changes in global ocean circulation, tropical deforestation and reforestation, microbiology, marine diseases, soil science, atmospheric chemistry, community-based coastal zone management, mathematical modeling of climate records, visualizing turbulent flow around marine organisms, scientific photography.
Website: https://globalcoral.org/
Video 1: GERF Conference
Video 2: Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
