Royal society of london

Abstract

From its earliest beginnings in the seventeenth century, the Royal Society of London has promoted the interdisciplinary exploration of the reef seas, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. The Society, both as a body and through the individual research activities of its Fellows, has made major contributions to the study of physical and geological oceanography; the establishment of the tectonic histories of coral reefs, both in the mid-ocean basins and on their margins; and the understanding of the biogeography and ecology of coral reefs.