Great Barrier Reef Research Paper

The 2,300 km Great Barrier Reef is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the world's largest protected reef system.

Coral reefs not only protect coastlines and beaches from wave damage and erosion, but also are the basis for the fishing and tourism industries. Dying reefs is a worldwide problem, and evidence shows that 10% of the entire world’s coral has died, and 60% will die by 2020 if existing conditions continue (NOAA 2000). The reason that the Australian Great Barrier Reef is so important is because not only is it the largest barrier reef in the world, but it is also one of the most evolved models of how to best manage and protect the world’s largest reef system (Ornitz 1996). It extends for 2,340 kilometers (km), covers 345,000 square km and contains 2,900 reefs, 300 coral cays and 600 continental islands (White 1999). Historically, it has been ahead of the rest of the world in terms of recognizing and addressing problems associated with reef degradation.

In 2018 English Broadcaster and Naturalist Sir David Attenborough said, “The Great Barrier Reef will be dead by 2100” Sir David Attenborough is not far off as already two third of the great barrier reef have either perished away or currently dying. Smart.Co must change everything with the introduction of Save The Great Barrier Reef foundation, the only way the world’s largest reef can be

Because the GBR is such a highly visited tourist attraction for snorkeling and diving, there has been a large number of human structures that have been built in natural areas. Every five years, the Australian government publishes an Outlook Report that examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, pressures, and likely future. “The report is required under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (section 54) and aims to provide a regular and reliable means of assessing reef health and management in an accountable and transparent way.” The report shows the actions that have been taken since 2009, including the focus on improving the quality of water that runs off the land. The increased freshwater run-off is in direct relation to the coastal development that has occurred since the major bleaching events have begun. The report released in 2009, states that the greatest risks to the Reef are still climate change, land-based runoff, coastal development, and some remaining impacts of fishing and illegal fishing and poaching. The report points out climate change as being the main cause of the destruction or bleaching of the reef (Department of Environment and Energy 2017). Most observers conclude that the climate change is a direct result of human

In 2018 English Broadcaster and Naturalist Sir David Attenborough said, “The Great Barrier Reef will be dead by 2100.” Sir David Attenborough is not far off as already two third of the great barrier reef has either perished away or currently dying. Smart.Co is here to help Australia fix the great barrier reef with the plastic problem one by

To summarize Rowan Jacobsen’s article in Outside magazine, Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016), it is titled the complete death and passing of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Jacobsen says the famous Barrier Reef passed away in 2016 at 25 million years old. He says the Barrier Reef is the largest living structure; stretching 1,400 miles long, 2,900 individual reefs, and 1,050 islands. This grand reef harbors thousands of species. The

Moreover, global warming has had a great effect on the Great Barrier Reef. Because the ecosystem in such a delicate balance, the continuous warmer weather kills the algae and the coral in this area. If the coral dies, the fish and other animals relying on the coral also die or are forced to move to other areas. While some reefs can recover after a stretch of time in overly

The Barrier Reef is the largest reef in the world, and it is located in Australia. It is made up of different types of coral and fish, but sadly the reef is bleaching. Bleaching is the process of water temperatures getting too warm and as a result coral reefs can bleach. When water gets too warm, corals will get rid of the algae living inside their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. Although, when coral reefs turn white this does not mean that they are dead, coral reefs can actually survive a bleaching event. It just means that the coral is under a lot of stress and

While government officials looked the other way, half of the coral has disappeared from along the length of the Great Barrier Reef. Additionally, vast areas of the reef’s coral have suffered serious degradation. It isn’t surprising that the area’s unique level of biodiversity is being threatened by the damage as well.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef In the world being at 345, 000 square kilometres in size. This huge amount of reef is home to 1,500 species of fish, 30 species of whales and dolphins, and 133 species of sharks and rays (Act.greenpeace.org, 2018). Imagine you were one of these fish and your home was just dying off leaving you without food and having to move to different areas. We are the ones causing The Great Barrier Reef to die! Not only does the reef provide homes and food for all of these animals but it also provides the ocean and earth with large amounts of oxygen.

Many issues have contributed to the Great Barrier Reef’s decline. The majority of these issues are human caused. This makes the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef so much more disappointing. The Great Barrier Reef is basically dying off. The amount of coral dying is increasing at an alarming rate. An issue that has contributed the most is Global Warming (Board). A journal called Nature stated,

The Great Barrier Reef is an iconic Australian landscape, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1981, being the world’s largest living organism and being one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

The Great Barrier Reef is on the brink of dying, and humans are to blame. Corals are the center of marine ecosystems as they provide food and shelter for animals as well as a source of income for Australia, in terms of tourism and fishing. However, as said by NASA research scientist Liane Guild, “Coral reefs are considered ‘canaries of the oceans,’ acting as an early warning system for marine ecosystems” . If the corals die off then everything in the ocean will follow. Of course weather is unpredictable and is a big part of why coral bleaching has occurred, but humans have also had a negative impact on them. There are currently Catholic movements aimed at saving the reef, and Pope Francis mentions the gravity of this situation in his recent encyclical. That being said, if we as a human race were told about coral bleaching by governments and were educated about it in school then global warming and weather wouldn’t have affected it as much as it has.

Among all the chaotic events that have been happening in 2016, this one has definitely stuck out to people. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the world and the largest ecosystem to millions of species. The scientists declared that more than 30% has died at 25 million years old. The home of 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 types of mollusks and 30 different dolphins and whales has come to an end.

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.