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Thomas F. Goreau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas Fritz Goreau(August 16, 1924 inGermany- April 22, 1970 inNew York) was amarine biologistwho worked extensively on thecoral reefsof Jamaica, and many other reefs in the Pacific, Caribbean, and Red Sea. He is the son of renowned science photographerFritz Goro.[1]

Career

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Goreau moved fromGermanytoAustriaat the age of 8, and lived in France and theUnited States,where he studied atClark University,The University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and received hisPh.Din ecology fromYale University.In 1951 he went to lecture at the medical school at theUniversity of the West Indiesin Jamaica, and in 1956 he founded a long-term research project exploring thecoral reefsof Jamaica.

Death

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His work on coral reefs began in 1947, when, as a student, he became involved with theBikini Atollatom bomb test site in the Marshall Islands as a chemist. As the diver who collected radioactive specimens from the lagoons, he most likely received lethal radiation exposure. Consequently, he died from cancer at the age of 45.

Legacy

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He built rebreather diving gear to explore the deep sea, and was the first diving marine scientist. He founded the marine laboratory atDiscovery Bay, Jamaicain an abandoned urinal on a fisherman's beach in the early 1960s. The fame of his research, which pioneered most of the techniques used in modern coral reef science, led to the construction of a research lab that opened only after his death in 1970.

He pioneered the use of scuba gear as a marine research tool, the use of radioisotopes to understand the growth of corals and marine organisms, the zonation of coral reefs, and many aspects of coral reef ecology and geology. WithNora I. Goreauhe did the basic work on the biology and physiology of corals and the role of algal symbiosis in their growth.[2]They discovered many new species, and explored many other subjects. Their work showed how coral reefs function and established their great sensitivity to environmental stress. His widowNora I. Goreau,the first Panamanian marine biologist, and sonThomas J. Goreaucontinue to focus their research on coral reefs.

Notes and references

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  1. ^Demers, Marisa."Techer | Reef Relief".alumni.caltech.edu.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  2. ^Goreau, Tom (2017-01-16)."In Memoriam: Dr. Nora Goreau April 25 1921 – December 18 2016 - Mother of Coral Reef Science".Global Coral Reef Alliance.Retrieved2019-11-06.

Bibliography

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  • Lothar Böhm (1971). "Professor Dr. Thomas Fritz Goreau. August 16, 1924 †-† April 22, 1970".Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie und Hydrographie.56(2): 321–323.doi:10.1002/iroh.19710560210.
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