The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most famous destinations to travel to when visiting Queensland. Not only are there an abundance of places to see while traveling the reef but also activities to engage in. The beauties above ground are soft on the eyes but cannot compare to the magic that lies below the water's surface. Going to visit the reef is something I have looked forward to for my entire trip thus far. I did a bit of research on the reef beforehand and thought I should share it to give some background. Although we think of the Great Barrier Reef as one of the most beautiful places on Earth, we overlook the history and many dangers it is currently encountering. It is easy to be fascinated by the creatures it holds but also have to wonder how many species we have already lost due to human neglect and destruction.
The Great Barrier Reef, located off of the northeast coast on
Queensland, Australia, was created a few million years ago due to tectonic
shifts. These created a continental
shelf which now serves as the foundation for 3,000 individual reefs and 600
types of coral. First to sail the length of the Great Barrier Reef in 1770,
James Cook mapped and explored the waters.
Similarly, Flinders explored and coined the reef as a “barrier” in 1801 due
to its obstacle-like nature.
It wasn’t until the 1890s where early
tourism, then ironically considered ‘eco-tourism’, became popular with pleasure
cruises. The 1960’s advertisements
portrayed the reef as an exotic paradise. Other than leisure, the reef was also
used for agricultural purposes. After
WWII, soldiers were encouraged to buy lands in N. Australia and participate in
the sugar cane industry. The idea of oil
drilling also became popular but was banned by the government after seeing the
travesties of the Santa Barbara oil spill. However, the present day mining boom
serves as the most current threat to the area.
Australia
exports 80% of its coal. There are about
12 ports located around the reef itself.
Dredging is used for ports and expansion, which allows for large ships
to navigate through. This is the process
of digging up the seabed and dumping it in a new area to increase the water
depth. This dredging has infected many
fish species, especially in the Gladstone area, making the fish inedible. As Australia is the 16th largest
carbon dioxide emitting country in the world, coal burning causes severe
threats. Coral bleaching is a result of
increases in sea temperature due to coal burning stations and emissions. Even a future 4C temperature increase will potentially
destroy the corals and result in a reef of bacteria and slime. This diagram helps to show the impacts of this choral bleaching to the healthy corals of the area.
Through further researching, I was able to find an abundance of organizations created in hopes to preserve this legacy. On my travels through the reef, I plan to keep an eye out for signs of these efforts. Unfortunately, I have a strong feeling the world of tourism has too strong of an impact on the reef and the profits of the area overshadow the efforts to decrease human contact and impact.
(Much of this information can be found through this extremely informative and detailed site: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2014/mar/great-barrier-reef-obituary)
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