Background

The Great Barrier reef is one of the largest, most diverse coral reefs on the planet. A coral reef (shown to the right)is a underwater structure made of calcium carbonate or coral. Coral are colonies of tiny living animals with few nutrients. The Great Barrier Reef lies on the coast of Australia. Currently, the reef is being rapidly destroyed by multiple factors. The first is the bleaching of the coral due to a rise in water temperatures. Bleaching is the whitening of coral due to stress or death. Global warming has caused the water temperatures to go up 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This may not seem like that big of a change but the coral cannot survive unless the water is a specific temperature. Another problem is the crown of thorns starfish. This ocean creature feeds on coral. This is a major problem since crown of thorns levels have spiked dramatically since the beginning of the 21st century. These starfish (shown to the right) have eaten so much of the Great Barrier Reef's coral that people are diving down and attempting to stab crowns of thorns to keep them from eating coral. Other problems include ship wrecks and oil spills like the one the happened April 4, 2010. The Chinese ship, Shen Neng 1 crashed into the reef going full speed and spilled barrels of oil into the reef. It is feared that a salvation attempt could spill even more oil into the precious Great Barrier Reef. The last major issue is chemical runoff from farms near the coast. These chemicals are killing coral near these farms.

Location

The Great Barrier Reef is on the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia. The reef is an underwater palace of coral and marine life. It is one of the biggest and probably the most diverse and famous coral reef on the planet. The Great Barrier Reef is a hot spot for scuba divers and snorkelers who travel across the globe the to swim in the reef. Part of the reason runoff goes straight to the reef is because of the hills from The Great Dividing Range in northeastern Australia. The hills provide a easy path for excess chemicals to run into the ocean.

Development

Water temperatures began to rise in 1998. Coral is designed to live at a very specific temperature, even a change of one degree could kill hundreds of coral. Shortly after the rise of water temperature in 1998, crowns of thorns began to rise dramatically in numbers and their primary food is coral. Not untill a six years ago has the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef been taken seriously by scientists. Now, steps are trying being taken to reverse the destruction of the coral reef.

Important Events

• Water Temperatures of the reef begin to rise-1998
• A crown of thorns outbreak in the Great Barrier Reef-2000
• New zoning plan for ecosystem consveration was put into action for the reef-2004

Impact

The total destruction of the Great Barrier Reef would be devestating to the enviroment. The reef is home to thousands of species of coral and fish. Hundreds of these species would be in danger of going extinct with the loss of the reef. One of the main economic factors of Australia is tourism. Without the Great Barrier Reef, the tourism industry would decline heavily which could be a big problem for the Australian economy. Many people use the coral reef in their daily lives to make a living for themselves. Jobs involving guided tours, fishing, and research on the reef would be lost if the Great Barrier Reef was destroyed.

These Are My Top Three Concerns About The Great Barrier Reef

1. The loss of one of the largest and most diverse coral reefs on the planet.
2. The extinction of hundreds of species of fish and coral with the loss of the reef.
3. The economic impact that could come with the loss of the Great Barrier Reef.

Future

It is predicted that by 2050, 95% of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef will be destroyed. If water temperature conitues to rise as predicted, then coral will be bleached at an even faster rate. If the reef does get destroyed completely it will be a huge blow to ocean life and may lead to extinction of many reef dwelling fish. Scientists are currently holding meetings about whether anything should (or could) be done to help the reef. Some argue that the coral will be able to adapt and make a recovery on its own. To try and help the coral now, scuba divers are diving down and purposely stabbing crowns of thorns to keep them from destroying coral. Currently the "Reef Plan" is in effect to help maintain biodiversity in the reef. For more information on the future of the Great Barrier Reef go to http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1117-corals.html.

Big Picture

There are two main reasons that the Great Barrier Reef is being destroyed. One is the crown of thorns starfish, and the other is a rise in water temperatures due to global warming. A rise in water temperatures causes calcification levels to drop which destroys coral. These two factors are rapidly destroying the the coral reef. The reason the Great Barrier Reef is such a tough problem to solve is because the reef is being destroyed largely due to natural hazards. The sharp increase in corwns of thorns is said to be mainly natural and it is possible that the global warming that raised water temperatures is also natural. This issue could be described as human-environment interaction, but i think it falls under the theme of natural hazards. A similar issue in world is Anarctica. Anarctica is melting due to a rise in global temperatures that could be the fault of humans or natural cuases. It could even be a mix of the two. If Anarctica completely melts, hundreds of species will go extinct and parts of the world will flood.