The Effects of Global Warming on The Great

Barrier ReefBy

Julie Pfeifer

Katie Jones

and

Temperance Carter

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

• “Discovered” by James Cook in 1770

• Larger than Italy – 113,900 square miles

• 1257 miles long• Stretches 10 to 100

miles from the shore• The largest structure

ever built by living creatures

The Great Barrier reef supports an

immense amount of diverse ocean life

The Great Barrier Reef draws in a large

amount of tourism

The effects of Global Warming are taking their toll on the Great Barrier

Reef

We will discover…

• The affects that Global Warming has on:– The reef itself – The animals that inhabit it– The Australian economy

• As well as:– The part that we all play– What can be done about it

Affects the Reef

Algae eating bacteria adhesiveness

Death of zooxanthellea

Mutual relationship between coral and algae

Pigment used for photosynthesis

Coral reef bleaching s

s

s

s

o

oTemperature

s

s

Affects the Reef (con’t)

• The nutrients that the coral would receive from the algae is loss when temperatures increase tremendously and the evidence thereof is the loss of color.

Photo by Ray Berkelmans, AIMS

Affects the Reef (con’t)

• Color can be restored if the temperature decreases quickly and greatly enough for the coral to bounce back.

• If elevated temperatures are maintained high enough or long enough, the lack of nutrients equates to starvation.

• Corals that experience any amount of bleaching are reproductively impaired to some degree

Threshold and Coping Ranges

http://http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/science/pdf/barrier_reef_report_1.pdf

Affects the Animals

• “There is no life without a place to live”

– TLC

• Home to or frequently visited by:– 30 species of whale, dolphin

and porpoises– 6 breeding species of sea turtles– 14 species of sea snakes– 1500 species of fish– Etc., etc., etc…

Affects the Animals (con’t)

• One third of the Great Barrier Reef is protected but if the environment of the area is changing, the protect species will not survive

• i.e. - Diagram from lecture on bird reserves and climate change

Affects the Money• 1.8 million tourist• 4.3 billion Australian dollars in

resort stays, boat rentals, etc• 47,600 employees of tourist

industry• 360 million dollars in fishing

industry• Net value of Great Barrier Reef:

And counting…DOWN

Solutions to the Affects of Global Warming on the

Great Barrier Reef

Consequences

•“…projections from 40 climate models suggested that oceans would warm by as much as 3c-4c in the next 100 years.”

- Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Queensland University

This rise in temperature will contribute to the diminishing barrier reef because the corals that reside within could not survive at elevated temperatures

•The fall of the reef will not only affect the millions of species living within it, but also thousands of people whose lives and income revolve solely around the reef

Educating the Public

• In order to help save the species and people who depend on the reef, our number one goal is to educate the public making them aware of their own effects on the reef.

• Once the public is aware, they will be more likely to respond to other solutions to help save the Great Barrier Reef.

<http://www.solcomhouse.com/Energy.htm>

<http://www.solcomhouse.com/Energy.htm>

The Effects of CO2• The main cause of Global warming

is the release of C02 emissions into the atmosphere

• C02 emissions are caused by burning fossil fuels (such as oil, gas and coal)

• In order to cut down on C02 emissions, we must cut down on our use of fossil fuels, which is currently our leading source of energy

Per Capita CO2 Emissions in Kgs

Graph of Per Capita CO2Emissions Kg

United ArabEmirates

United States

Belgium

Kuwait

Australia

Canada

CO2Emissions in

Kg's

Country

05

1015202530

Australia Emits between 11601-26210 kg’s per year per capita

Australia has the fourth highest per capita emissions of CO2 in the World

<http://www.solcomhouse.com/Energy.htm>

General Conclusions• If we continue to use energy and fossil fuels at the same rate, projections show that the temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef will increase up to 4c in a matter of 100 years.

•Global warming, caused by C02 emissions is the number one cause of this problem

•Australia is currently one of the top energy consuming countries as shown in the per capita energy consumption and per capita C02 emissions maps. Australia, nor the rest of the world, shows an impressive amount of renewable energy sources, which in the long term will greatly effect the life of the Great Barrier Reef

•Globally, to fix this problem, we must do our best to inform and educate the public, cut down on C02 emissions, decrease our dependency on fossil fuels and increase our use of renewable energy sources.