Whats causing the destruction of the reef?
The image on the left is a picture I took while visiting the Great Barrier Reef while the image on the right is an image off the internet of the Great Barrier Reef. Australian tourism portrays only the image on the right to the Australian community and world wide community, they do not portray the harsh reality of the picture on the left. If the Great Barrier Reef's destruction is not illuminated to the public they will continue to believe in the picture on the right which does not provide an accurate representation of the reef at all. This will therefore continue to lead to its destruction as there will be no community action in getting involved to help end this and change the reef for good for better.
Greenhouse Effect - Climate Change
Man made actions are leading contributors to Global Warming which is creating Climate Change. Climate Change is one of the greatest threats to reefs helping to form its destruction. Global Warming occurs when greater concentrations of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide trap more heat and raise the Earth's surface temperature. This greater concentration of greenhouse gases is occurring due to human activity particularly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas.
Climate change leads to coral bleaching:
A phenomenon that occurs due to a reaction to increases in water temperature, coral bleaching can be a hugely destructive force on reefs in general and the Great Barrier Reef in particular. Corals are given their vibrant colours as a result of the algae who inhabit them; the warmer waters kill off the algae which then leads to the coral losing its colouration and results in the “bleach” effect from which the condition gets its name. The death of algae in turn results in the death of creatures that use them as their primary source of food, which once again has a ripple effect up the chain and renders the affected section of reef a veritable underwater ghost town. Scientists and researchers largely attribute the relatively sudden changes in water temperature to such natural phenomenon as the El Nino effect.
Climate change leads to coral bleaching:
A phenomenon that occurs due to a reaction to increases in water temperature, coral bleaching can be a hugely destructive force on reefs in general and the Great Barrier Reef in particular. Corals are given their vibrant colours as a result of the algae who inhabit them; the warmer waters kill off the algae which then leads to the coral losing its colouration and results in the “bleach” effect from which the condition gets its name. The death of algae in turn results in the death of creatures that use them as their primary source of food, which once again has a ripple effect up the chain and renders the affected section of reef a veritable underwater ghost town. Scientists and researchers largely attribute the relatively sudden changes in water temperature to such natural phenomenon as the El Nino effect.
Crown-of-thorns Starfish
The crown-of-thorns starfish feeds on corals which naturally helps to balance the amount of slow growing coral and fast growing corals however over the past 80 years large outbreaks of the starfish have become more frequent. This is having a negative affect on the Great Barrier Reef's coral as the frequent outbreaks do not allow the coral enough time to sufficiently recover and grow back. The outbreaks are normally due to a dramatic increase of nutrient levels in the water during spawning season. This higher level of nutrients means that the starfish is able to grow, develop and survive at higher than average rates.
Ocean Acidification
Ocean acidification. The Ocean is absorbing half the excess amount of carbon dioxide being produced from human activity. Because so much extra carbon dioxide is being absorbed by the ocean it is causing a chemical change and is estimated to have caused a decrease in oceanic pH of 0.1. This is referred to as ocean acidification as the oceans are becoming more acidic (though technically they are still alkaline).
The Process: As carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed from the atmosphere it bonds with sea water forming carbonic acid. This acid then releases a bicarbonate ion and a hydrogen ion. The hydrogen ion bonds with free carbonate ions in the water forming another bicarbonate ion.
Even relatively small increases in ocean acidity decrease the capacity of corals to build skeletons, which in turn decreases their capacity to create habitat for the Reef's marine life.
The Process: As carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed from the atmosphere it bonds with sea water forming carbonic acid. This acid then releases a bicarbonate ion and a hydrogen ion. The hydrogen ion bonds with free carbonate ions in the water forming another bicarbonate ion.
Even relatively small increases in ocean acidity decrease the capacity of corals to build skeletons, which in turn decreases their capacity to create habitat for the Reef's marine life.
Over fishing
Overfishing is, simply put, when so many fish are caught that the population can't reproduce enough to replace them. Overfishing can lead to depletion of or extinction of fish populations. The Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 defines overfishing as "as a rate or level of fishing mortality that jeopardizes a fishery's capacity to produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY) on a continuing basis."
Shipping
Being such a popular destination for cruises and other sightseeing vessels to pass through – as well as a tourism gateway when heading towards other island destinations such as Fiji – the Great Barrier Reef sees a huge amount of ocean traffic pass through its waters every day of the year. Whilst the number of resulting collisions and groundings has decreased substantially in recent history when compared to the past, their occurrence and the subsequent wreck they leave has an immediate and drastic effect on the surrounding ecosystem as debris and other foreign objects enter the water and remain there for a long period of time. A boat does not have to go to the extreme of becoming wrecked to have an effect on the Great Barrier Reef, however; the mere act of larger vessels passing through the oceans of the reef can release a substance known as Tributyltin (or “TBT”) which is used as to preserve the condition of ship hulls that is toxic to sea water and which can damage marine organisms that it is released on top of.
Oil spills
While the act of oil drilling is banned on the reef, spills caused by passing oil container ships have still continued to occur, with the most recently recorded happening in 2010 as the Chinese bulk coal carrier Shen Neng 1 – travelling 10 kilometres outside the regulation shipping lane – struck the reef, scraping along its surface for a substantial length and creating a massive grounding scar over 3 kilometres in length (the longest in recorded history). As a result, some of the damaged areas have become uninhabitable for marine life and there are estimates from experts that the reef may take up to 10 to 20 years to recover from the incident.