On a June evening in 1770, British explorer, Captain James Cook heard the irritable screeching of wood against stone. Little did he know, he had just discovered the Great Barrier Reef! Off the coast of Queensland, Australia in the Coral Sea, the GBR is the world's largest reef system, it can even be seen from space! It is approximately 35 million hectares, which equals about 70 million football fields. The GBR hosts an extremely diverse array of marine life from mollusks to fish to sea and shore birds. Attracting about 2 million people per year, the GBR generates AU$4-5 billion annually. A coral reef forms underwater when thousands of tiny animals, called polyps, establish a colony. How did this series of reefs become the Great Barrier Reef?
“On a June evening of 1770, Captain James Cook heard the screech of wood against stone” (ngm.nationalgeographic.com). He later realized that he had just discovered the Great Barrier Reef. Cook and his team had been exploring the waters offshore of what is now Queensland, Australia when the H.M.S. Endeavour became trapped in the labyrinth of coral. Not too far below the surface, rough, spiky towers of coral tore into the ship’s frame and held the vessel fast(ngm.nationalgeographic.com). As timbers splintered and the sea poured in, the crew arrived on deck “with countenances which sufficiently expressed the horrors of our situation,” Cook later wrote in his diary. The captain and crew barely made it to a river mouth where they rehabilitated the vessel. A few decades after Cook’s encounter with the reef, English cartographer Matthew Flinders-who also had a mishap or two while “threading the needle” among the reefs-gave the massive body its name, inspired by its size.
The Great Barrie...
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Earth, an endless source of wonder and beauty, produced the Great Barrier Reef. Hustling and bustling, the Reef thrives like a busy city, teeming with life. Sheltering thousands, corals, maintain the well-being of the Reef; however, the world threatens its nature and delicacy. Populations growing and technological advances increasing, the world becomes more and more disconnected with the natural world, posing an alarming risk for the planet we live on. Although many organizations try to keep the oceans clean, because of human interference and unnatural occurrences, the Great Barrier Reef needs scientific help to adapt corals to new conditions for means of survival, putting pressure on the Australian government to save their ocean environment.
Kühlmann, Dietrich H. H. (1985) Living Coral Reefs of the World. New York: Arco Publishing, Inc.
Nowadays climate change is the biggest problem of the human being. It is already happening and represents one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet. Climate change, also known as global warming is the seasonal change for a long geological period of time in the world that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity, altering the composition of the global atmosphere. Australia faces significant environmental and economic impacts from climate change across a number of sectors, including water security, agriculture, coastal communities, and infrastructure.
In the article called “Recent Ocean Heat Waves Have "Forever" Altered Great Barrier Reef” The author talks about how the heat wave’s changing corals reefs on great barrier in Australia. The article starts by talking about recently in great barrier corals reefs is changing so much then before due to high heat waves. In fact, not only reefs but they were major infect on corals then before. The scientist suggests between March and November most of the corals reefs died within eight month. Most of them causing by essential change that mix with hundreds of different reefs due to high heat waves. The authors indicated that almost every parts of reefs has deeply affected in great barriers. The article clearly states the facts that, the transformation are the result of a huge coral because of lightening event that transported by high
Believe it or not the current pop culture surrounding the reef is environmental protection. This mean that people are trying to protect and cleanse the reef of toxic waste and such. And the reason that comes to mind as to why they are protecting the reef is because they would want to preserve such a mythical place from the bottom of their
Australia is known for its beautiful beaches and marvellous man made creations. "The Great Barrier Reef, off the East Coast of Australia, is one of the wonders of the natural earth - it is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem," Australian Government. In 1981, The Great Barrier Reef was acknowledged as a World Heritage area and in 2007 it was added to the National Heritage List ( refer to images two and six). The reef is not only beneficial for Australia's growing tourism market but it also provides a healthy amount of capitol into the Australian economy (refer to diagram three). There are many factors that are and could potentially be affecting the sustainability of this natural wonder. Just think, what would Australia be like without The Great Barrier Reef?
As the great Sir David Attenborough would say “The great barrier reef is in grave danger” and everything that comes out of his mouth is in fact a fact.
Coral reefs around the world are in danger. One of the causes is global warming, which has been increasing the temperature of the ocean water resulting in coral bleaching. This essay will focus on damage occurring to the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s most prized icons, however, banana production is polluting nearby rivers in North Queensland, turning them red and brown from sediment runoff, threatening the future of the Reef. This report will explore the impacts of the Australian banana industry on The Great Barrier Reef, action taken to prevent negative impacts, and possible solutions.
The significance of the Great Barrier Reef is mainly because it is the most extensive structure built by living organisms. It is so big and detailed, that it can be seen from the moon. Now part of the World Heritage List, The Great Barrier Reef starts just below Papua New Guinea and is a long stretch of 2000km long running down the North East coast of Australia. (Refer 0.1) It has 2500 different reefs and is home to 1500 species of fish, 350 different types of coral. It is a major breeding area for humpback whales, sea turtles and sea birds. The Great Barrier Reef provides many jobs and has created many industries in Queensland. It is the most significant drawcard for tourism in Queensland. Although the Great Barrier Reef has many species of living creatures. It hold lots of cultural and historical history. In 1975 the Great Barrier Reef was established. It was listed on the world heritage list in October 1981. Now a Marine Park that is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The Reef extends back to thousands of years ago and even has its involvements with the first European explores in the 17th and 18th century.
“Losing Our Coral Reefs.” State of the Planet Losing Our Coral Reefs Comments, Earth Istitute, 13 June 2011, blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/06/13/losing-our-coral-reefs/
The Great barrier reef has had many recent hardships, including water pollutants and the increasing water temperature. Although it may be too late to save this particular reef we the people must not be so nearsighted to the
Coral Reefs need to be preserved for many reasons. In this paper I will discuss a
Today many people do not see the need to preserve corals reefs. Hence because of the lack of appreciation for the reefs, they are slowly disappearing. Many citizens do not realize the importance of these reefs, the species they hold, and the food webs that connect the ecosystems. Our American government has stated many times that they are doing all they can to preserve and to replenish our coral reefs. However, how accurate is that statement? To answer these questions, we first have to understand what a coral reef is and how it can be saved.