Essay Example on the Great Barrier Reef: A Slowly Disappearing Heritage

The Great Barrier Reef at the north of the Australian coast is an incredible UNESCO site. It is, however sad to note that it is slowly losing its heritage, because of the changing climate. This paper describes the site, the scientific evidence of the existing challenges, the effects of the society on science and the knowledge on the current climatic problem.

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The Great Barrier Reef has a length of approximately 2,300 kilometres and stretches along with the northeastern Australian coast. It is situated in Queensland and has been named an icon of the state of Queensland. According to recent reports, it has the size equivalent to Italy and contains many corals. The corals make it a home of as many as 1,625 fish species. It was granted a certificate by UNESCO as a site of remarkable beauty (Hughes, Day&Brodie, 2015). The Barrier Reef is visible from the space, making it the most massive solid structure, created by living organisms. Apart from becoming a world heritage site, it has been labelled as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, making it one of the most toured places in the world. The media personalities are seeking permissions to create music videos and movies in the site.

There is an observation that over recent years, there has been a reduction in the population of fish and reefs have continued to whiten. The bleaching has continued to extend towards the southern part. The degrading number of fish species and the aquatic plants cannot be primarily blamed on human activities that have occurred. There is a marine park that keeps the reef from the impacts of social activities. For so long, scientists related the fading of coral reef with the exposure of the ocean to pollution. The effluents which were increasing, due to encroachment of factories closer to the ocean and the pesticides being used by farmers on farms. The reported increase in the starfishes was an indicator of changes in the water. The scientists discovered after sampling of the water and the examination of the currents found that the cause of all these changes is the warming temperatures of the ocean that have been associated with climate change(Hughes, Day&Brodie,2015). The corals get their color from the food they consume and the algae within them. The high temperatures in the ocean disturb the algae. Algae cannot survive in high temperatures, and the stress caused by the temperatures makes them disappear. There are a lot of scientists who have dedicated their time to study the cause of the changes in temperatures in the ocean. Some findings by the marine scientists are that the temperatures are caused by the extended time wave of heat and the drought in the significant rain forests. The climate council of Australia confirmed that the temperatures were several times higher in the ocean, in the year 2016 than in 1900 (Hughes, Day&Brodie,2015). The scientists warns of a continued coral bleaching, since the global warming has ceased to stop. The corals will not be able to withstand the rising temperatures that harm their physiological makeup. The coral bleaching at the Great Reef will have ecological effects on the reef community; for example, the reduced number of fishes species is because some fish prefers a more relaxed environment.This heat forces them to find a new habitat.

The disappearance of the fish will lead to deaths of the seabirds, that feed on fish and balance the ecology. The other disadvantage of bleaching is the effects caused on the benthic community of corals more in-depth in the water. They react to the stress of the increased climate change. The UNESCO wrote the concern on the effects of climate change on the corals, which were rapidly bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef (Hughes, Day&Brodie, 2015). The draft warned the Australian strategists that their vision 2050 concerning the Reef would not be achieved. There is a need to improve the quality of the water immediately. Another climate-related issue at the Great Barrier is the acidification of the ocean.

The changes in the pH. of the water in the ocean have made the corals reduce their ability to make defence skeletons. This effect has decreased their capacity to build and expand the habitat for the other marine life(Monselesan et al.,2016). It is reducing the previous ability to build up and make a breeding ground. The ocean has taken in a higher percentage of carbon from the atmosphere, compared to the 18th century. The carbon is released to the atmosphere by human physical activities related to industrialization. The extra carbon dioxide gas in the ocean has resulted in the acidity and the decreased pH.

There are several ways in which science is affected by society. The effects are either politically or morally. The research and discovery of the impact of the alarming rising temperatures were arrived at, scientifically. Politics gives direction on how science can be conducted. There can be law limits that do research, stopped or paused without the full findings.Such directives can also prevent the funding of scientific projects. The advantages of this, however, is that political influence can affect the plans positively.

An instance is the funding of the research on the Challenges that had occurred to the corals at the Great Barrier Reef(Monselesan et al.,2016). Politics can make some areas of research in science, limited and inaccessible. The law can be set to bare the scientists from venturing into an investigation that will lead to controversy and the instability in the society. Morality guides the way science functions in society. The religious principles, for instance, can prevent the implementation of some pressing matters that can object to the existing faiths.Researches on controversial issues, such as the cloning of human beings have been stopped for their questions on morality.

The scientific knowledge that can be used to explain the cause of the increasing warmth in the ocean, and the destruction of the corals at the Great Barrier, is derived from the knowledge of science and the effects of greenhouse gases. The oceans are profoundly affected by the absorption of excessive heat from gasses emitted by the greenhouses. The results are such a server that the marine life and its ecosystem are significantly affected. Apart from the coral bleaching, the breeding grounds for fishes and other ocean mammal is destroyed. The great barrier is a tourist's attraction to many. The temperatures bleaching the corals will affect the revenue of Queensland and threatens to cause other prevalent, weather conditions that may destroy the coastline. Great Barrier Reef is an important breeding ground for several species of Fish. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, there is an estimate of 4 billion people who source their proteins from fish(Monselesan et al.,2016). The alteration of the fishes breeding ground, which is less available is a threat to a large number of people. The loss brought, about by the climate change at the coast of Queensland is a nutritional threat. Climate change is also affecting the vegetation along the coast.These vegetation are essential in preventing the shoreline from erosion. The rising sea temperatures have caused the erosion of the ocean line, and there can be expected to flood if a control measure is not applied soon enough. There is a reported claim of the rising levels of water in the ocean at the reef. The increasing level of the water due to the increasing temperatures is the main reason for the big rains in the area. The dying corals are because of the temperatures that have increased and caused transmission of diseases among the marine species. The increased temperatures will soon affect the human beings who are likely to consume marine products.

In conclusion, several solutions can be implemented to save the Great Barrier Reef from extinction. The first one is the limitation of emission of gases that are likely to alter the Ph of the ocean once absorbed. There are plans to implement the mitigation program provided by the Paris agreement on climate change. The policies on reducing the emissions will reduce the acidity of the ocean and enhance the survival of the aquatic animals. The marine environment and the ecosystem along the coastal regions should be protected. The protection of ecosystem habitats will ensure that human activities near the UNESCO site will reduce. The environment destruction will be minimized hence little effects to the habitat. There should be a restoration of the already destroyed marine life. The government of Queensland and UNESCO should partner and work on restoring the damaged parts of the Reef. There can be something done, like the closure of the site, for a while. This restoration may help in bringing back the natural beauty it had before. There can be a creation of artificial pools and structures to be breeding ground for marine life and breed fish species that are resistant to slightly high temperatures. They should also invest in assisted breeding technology to maintain the number of marine animals in the site. The most critical investment also should be the strengthening of the research programmes that are being done. The government should sponsor the scientists on the ground examining how the adverse climatic conditions can be combated so that the natural beauty of the Great Barrier Reef and other unidentified sites can last. This sponsorship makes it an attraction to the world from one generation to the other. The responsibility of taking care of the reef is for all. Every individual should support policies and tools that are key in the reduction of emissions to the atmosphere. Some sites have been founded to support the Reef and the other reefs all over the world. The campaigns aim at building the capacities of marine managements to fight and adapt to the changing climatic conditions and build resilient reefs.

References

Hughes, T. P., Day, J. C., & Brodie, J. (2015). Securing the future of the Great Barrier Reef. Nature Climate Change, 5(6), 508.Retrieved from http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015NatCC...5..508H

Monselesan, D., Church, J., & Gilson, J. (2016). Ocean temperatures chronicle the ongoing warming of Earth. Nature Climate Change, 6(2), 116.Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2924?WT.ec_id=NCLIMATE-201602&spMailingID=50558365&spUserID=ODkwMTM2NjQyMAS2&spJobID=843595906&spReportId=ODQzNTk1OTA2S0