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RUNNING HEAD: Coral Reef Damage1Coral Reef DamageJesi WingGlendale Community College
Coral Reef Damage2Coral Reef Damage“Scuba has been around for many years and with plenty of advancements. From the first diving bell invented in the early 1500s to the options of equipment a scuba diver has today” (Scuba Diver News). Scuba diving and snorkeling are a great tourist revenue for many economies throughout the desolate ocean bearing communities. Many of the locals depend on the amount of tourism with snorkeling and diving the great beauty of the reefs in the ocean. Scuba divers and snorkelers will travel all over the world to dive and snorkel in the best and most beautiful sights. For thousands of years coral reef
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Recreational scuba diving has been stated to be the main factor to which coral reefs have severe damage and are dying.With the extreme beauty of coral reefs and the marine life below the surface, it has been said that we are losing this tropical rainforest of the ocean. Damage to coral reefs has been an ongoing argument for many years as to what is the major cause to the loss of coral reefs. Coral reef damage is caused by many factors which include; recreational scuba diving, global warming, natural disasters, ships and fishing vessels anchoring directly on top of them as well as over fishing. Recreational scuba diving has been said to be the main factor to which coral reefs are dying. However that is not the only concern to the constant damage done to coral reefs. Scuba diving has been used to study the ever changing natural reefs under water to studying the marine life that lives below the water in the natural as well as man-made habitats and reefs. It has been stated that scuba diving causes damage to coral reefs and has a negative effect on marine life. “In nature, corals are colorful. When they …show more content…
From 1982 until 1987 the amount of cruise ships that anchored in the Caribbean rose form thirty five to eighty two. Speculations say that by the time 1995 arrived there would be more than one hundred and sixty cruise ships that would drop anchor in the Caribbean and some point” (Allen, 1992).Even though, anchor damage by ships and other sea bearing vessels cause a majority of damage to coral reefs; global warming plays a role in the damage done to coral reefs. Global warming and natural disasters are a diminishing factor to the damage to coral reefs as well. With natural disasters such as hurricanes this brings along with it increase in rain and colder temperatures. With the increased rain, it in turn changes the salinity of the ocean. Hurricanes also cause large swells in the ocean that cause waves to break over the reefs, the large swells and surges under the water cause the coral to break and become damaged. Hurricanes will also draw the water out of the ocean and leave the coral reefs exposed near shorelines. This in turn causes the reefs to die and may not ever recover due to the exposure to the atmospheric air. It has been said that human activity is what is increasing the greenhouse gases also known as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This then causes more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. With the increase in global warming it is
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
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.
Climate change has been affecting coral reefs in a negative way. If the climate continues to get warmer more of our coral reef become bleached, the structure of the reefs will become weak, and algae that keeps coral healthy will die. In the essay, “A framework for understanding Climate change impacts on Coral Reefs” by Joshua Clinner (2016), he emphasizes our climate change has become one of the long-term threats to coral reef. The article “Climate change and human impacts are damaging the world’s coral reefs”, which didn’t include an author (2001), states that the sea temperatures throughout the tropics has increased dramatically leaving much of the coral unhealthy. Spencer Hall (2008), discussed in his article “Coral Reefs and Climate Change”, how the increase in climate change puts a lot of stress on coral reefs because they are very sensitive to the change of temperature. Rigel B (2003) states in his essay, “Climate Change and Coral Reefs”, that coral reef has already been negatively impacted by
Leading scientists advise climate change will cause increases to the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Rising sea levels pose a significant risk to coastal communities, while the world’s oceans could become too acidic to support coral reefs and other calcifying marine organisms. Coral reefs contain only six per cent of the area of the Great Barrier Reef, yet they provide critical habitat and food for numerous species in the ecosystem. However, climate change has already impacted coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef as corals are very helpless against its potential impacts. Eight mass coral bleaching events has occurred since 1979, triggered by unusually high water temperatures. And because of this, zooxanthellae (photosynthetic algae) leave their tissues and corals will have no more colours hence ‘bleaching’. Without the zooxanthellae, the corals that remain gradually starve to death. Once the coral dies, fish and a multitude of other marine species are soon affected. Rising sea levels and more frequent and intense storm surges will see more erosion of Australia’s coastline, causing community and residential
We need coral reefs, and not just to make the ocean look pretty and colourful, they are more than just that…
All over the world coral reefs play an important part in our environment. Not only are the reefs colorful and beautiful to look at but the coral reefs house several different types of fish and other sea creatures. Coral reefs have started to decline over the years due to “climate change, El Nino events, overfishing, pollution and other pressures” (Newnham 1). A healthy coral reef can also collapse due to a natural disaster (Newnham 2). There can be several different reasons why a coral reef has started to decline or has been destroyed.
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.
Humans have a very large effect on the ecosystems of coral reefs. Sensitivity of coral reefs causes them to be more susceptible to harmful anthropogenic practices. Some of these are sedimentation, global warming, recreational activities, poison fishing, blast fishing practices, water pollution, and coral mining. All of these very different practices can effectively end up with the same results; the mortality of coral reefs around the world. Coral reefs are an important ecosystem of the world, and support many different industries and millions of people.
Imagine a lush underwater place. Beautiful structures colorful animals and places that would never have been thought of before. In reality that's not what it really looks like, really the ocean is a desolate place that is barren like a desert. Many marine species have been lost by as much as 49%.(seeker) A big part of that reason is because of coral bleaching which causes as stated above a decline in species that depend on the coral as there home. Coral bleaching is a serious problem that could cause problems for everyone if we don’t fix it.
Oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface. The talk of climate change can often seem to focus on what is happening in our atmosphere, but there is a lot of change going on in our oceans. The oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat and 28% of the carbon pollution generated by human consumption of fossil fuels (Nuccitelli 2015). The purpose of this paper is to show how the effects of climate change effect the coral reefs in our oceans, with a focus on the coral reef systems in the Caribbean and of the Great Barrier Reef. The Caribbean coral reefs are well known to have suffered more damage between the two reef systems. That’s not to say that the Great Barrier Reef has not suffered its own damage. It has and will continue to suffer in the future.
This website gives a large historical overlook and possible conclusion to the issue of coral reef bleaching. Since the 1980’s episodes of coral reef bleaching and death have occurred almost every year in one or more of the world's tropical or subtropical seas. Bleaching happens in episodes, with the most severe typically accompanying coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomena. Bleaching episodes have resulted in loss of coral
Coral reefs are well known for their colorful array of marvelous sights including a parade of exotic flora and fauna. They are said to be the foundation for a quarter of marine species, and are a crucial support for human life as well. The coral reef ecosystem is a diverse collection of species (ranging from microscopic to larger-than-life in size) that interact with each other and their physical environment. If any piece of a coral reef is harmed or removed the entire community can be seriously affected, even to the point of collapse. Unfortunately, human impact has resulted in long-term stresses that, unlike the short-term stress of natural disasters, coral reefs are not as capable to recover from. “Approximately half of the world’s coral reef ecosystem resources are considered by scientists to be in 'poor' or 'fair' condition and have declined over time due to several anthropogenic threats” (“Status of Corals” par. 2). Through poorly administered commercial practices, carelessness and ignorance among the common people, and human aggravated natural processes coral reef destruction has become a serious issue afflicting the world’s biodiversity and it’s intricate biosphere mechanics (“Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef” 1) (“What Are Coral Reefs?” 1).
The whole documentary centered on the death of coral reefs due to the warm temperatures of the oceans brought about by climate change. One of the greatest factors of warm oceans is the greenhouse gases transferred in the ocean which includes carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, which humans emit in the atmosphere, has the capacity to trap heat and 93% of this goes to the oceans.
Located in tropical ocean waters, coral reefs provide priceless resources to both human and marine life. The leading natural cause of destruction among the coral reefs is global warming. Other natural causes are earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. The destruction to the coral reefs from these natural disasters is minimal compared to the dangers caused by man. Man-made destruction has a much wider impact on the health of the coral reefs. This destruction includes over-fishing, damage from anchors, aquarium industry, overgrowth of seaweed, and being smothered by sediments.
Coral Reefs need to be preserved for many reasons. In this paper I will discuss a