The Great Barrier Reef in Australia
is no doubt a breath taking wonder of nature. The Barrier reef is home to more
than four hundred different types of coral and hundreds more fish and other
wild life. This is all in jeopardy of dying out because the rising sea
temperatures.
The rising sea temperatures are a
direct effect of global warming. The increase in the burning of fossil fuels
has resulted in the increase of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. How does
the effect the Great Barrier Reef? About 25 percent of the world’s Carbon
Dioxide molecules are absorbed by the ocean. The Great Barrier Reef is not invincible
and this is becoming very clear. In the past decade the Great Barrier Reefs
have experienced the two warmest temperatures 5 year periods in the history of
the earth. The increasing sea temperature has started taking its toll on the
fragile and highly specialized ecosystem. The reef which is the biggest coral
reef in the world is starting to succumb to the rising temperatures. These
rising temperatures have resulted in the bleaching of the coral which means the
coral is dead. Another result of the rising temperature is the slowing of
expansion of the reef. This is hazardous to the ecosystem because the lack of
new organisms means the fewer organisms there is to absorb the Carbon dioxide.
This is a problem because the coral all have the ability to absorb a certain
level of CO2 but not a lot if the water becomes denser with CO2 than the coral
die out and the ecosystem around the coral die as well because they are a major
keystone species in this ecosystem. The dying off of the coral reef means the
dying off of the species that rely on it as a means of their survival as well.
This highly diversified community will continue to diminish if the sea temperatures
continue to rise due to the burning of fossil fuels.
This is important for us to
understand because in ecology we study how our actions affect the world we live
in. This is a direct result of humans burning fossil fuels at a pace were the
earth can’t maintain its balance. Our ecological footprint is too much for the
earth to keep up with. The earth cannot replenish its resources fast enough to
deal with the addition of Carbon Dioxide in to the atmosphere at the high
levels we produce. In class we have learned ways to reduce our ecological
footprint for scenarios just like this. This case only confirms that the
material we learn in class is truly realistic tools and problems the earth
faces every day because of humans and our manipulation of the environment for
our convenience.
I believe that if this problem does
not improve it will be too late to fix or reverse the damages that we
have caused to the Great Barrier Reef. In class I learned that this area is a
big tourist attraction. This would hurt us in the place that hurts the most,
our economy. I think that we need to protect this ecosystem for economic
security. Not only does this hurt our wallets but it is a source of protection
of erosion of Austria’s coast line as well. I believe that this increase in sea
temperature is more serious than we think and we have to act now if we want to
save this amazing ecosystem.
Sources:
"Great Barrier Reef Wild Life." BBC News. BBC.
Web. 06 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/places/Great_Barrier_Reef>.
"Ocean Acidification Hits Great Barrier Reef:
Scientific American." Science News, Articles and Information. Web. 06 Apr.
2012.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ocean-acidification-hits-great-barrier-reef>.
"Ocean Acidification Hits Great Barrier Reef:
Scientific American." Science News, Articles and Information. Web. 06 Apr.
2012.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ocean-acidification-hits-great-barrier-reef>.
"Working Together Today for a Healthier
Reef Tomorrow..." Impacts of Rising Sea Temperatures on the Reef. Web. 06
Apr. 2012. <http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/outlook-for-the-reef/climate-change/how-climate-change-can-affect-the-reef/rising-sea-temperatures>
No comments:
Post a Comment