Is the Great Barrier Reef in danger? Great Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef seen from space
August 9th, 2016
Big barrier reef is home to more than 1,500 species of fish, but this is just one of its many attractions to this amazing natural wonder. Known for its unrivaled natural diversity The Great Barrier Reef is one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, and it is the only Living being on Earth, which can be seen from space.
The Great Barrier Reef was recently ranked by News and World Report as best place in the world to visit. The ranking was based on a methodology that combined traveler opinions with expert analysis. These breathtaking photos will show why the Great Barrier Reef took first place.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system. It consists of more than 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, and extends over 2,240 kilometers.
The Great Barrier Reef runs along the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia, starting at the tip of Cape York Peninsula and all the way to Bundaberg.
The Great Barrier Reef has an endless list of unique activities to offer tourists.
Of course, scuba diving is the most popular activity for tourists. Although the reef has suffered from the effects of climate change, it has unparalleled ecological diversity, with much of it hidden beneath the water's surface.
For non-swimmers, these magnificent wonders can be viewed on glass-bottomed boats.
The Capricorn Coast and Queensland offer a variety of underwater tours.
Scenic helicopter tours offer a bird's eye view of the reef - this The best way to fully appreciate just how vast the Great Barrier Reef really is.
Flights to balloons offer to see the same views from the air, but at a slower pace.
Day trips to the islands of the Great Barrier Reef combine the best of both worlds: visitors can swim and snorkel among underwater wildlife and see the beauty of rainforests and sandy beaches.
For lovers sailing species relax here ideal conditions. Catamarans and other small boats can be rented. Big boats with their crews can be chartered for overnight or multi-day cruises.
Rafting the Tully River in North Queensland requires no experience and offers the chance to see world heritage listed rainforests.
No trip to Australia would be complete without seeing some of the big creatures. In Hartley on crocodile farm guests can see crocodiles at close range and meet koalas.
The Rainforest Cable Car helps visitors discover Australia's rainforests.
Area with rich history and heritage, North Queensland also offers one-of-a-kind restaurants, shopping.
Guests can enjoy the best of Australian food and wine under ancient rainforest trees.
Just off the coast of North Queensland, the village of Kuranda is great place to learn about life in the region's indigenous community.
Kuranda is also world famous for its markets. The stalls are open every day of the year and offer a wide range of Aboriginal artefacts, leather goods self made, jewelry and works of art.
For tourists
The National Trust has named the Great Barrier Reef business card Queensland. Tourism is an important economic activity in the region, generating more than $3 billion annually.
Hotels have been built on large islands and infrastructure has been developed. These places are the embodiment of the idea of “heaven on earth”: unique nature, excellent climate, surprisingly comfortable water and air temperatures, snow-white sandy beaches, comfortable hotels and friendly staff. This - perfect place for lovers active rest. You can, for example, rent scuba diving equipment and use the services of diving instructors. Will be a great time boat trips on yachts and catamarans, fishing and all kinds of aquatic species sports There is no less entertainment on land: mini-golf, karting, visiting a park with exotic Australian animals, horseback riding and cycling. There is even an airport built on Hamilton Island. The small island of Bedarra will appeal to those who want to relax in silence and hide from prying eyes. No more than 32 people can relax here at the same time, because there are only 16 villas available to guests. You can also stay during your vacation at the resorts of Dank, Brampton, Hatzman, Keppel, Khaimam, Heron, Magnetik, Orpheus, Green. But there are also islands on the Great Barrier Reef that no human has ever set foot on.
Panorama of the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef ecosystem
It is almost impossible to describe the wealth of underwater life that can be found on the Great Barrier Reef!
The species diversity is amazing! More than 1,500 species of fish, 4,000 shellfish, more than 200 species of birds have found their home in the marine park...
The reef animal community includes coelenterates (polyps, jellyfish), many species of mollusks (gastropods, bivalves, cephalopods, etc.), sea turtles, snakes, worms, echinoderms ( sea urchins, stars, darters), bottom-dwelling and free-swimming fish, as well as marine mammals(dolphins, dugongs).
This whole whirlpool of life exists, subject to the strict laws of nature and natural selection, where everyone can be both a predator and a prey.
Sharks are also of genuine interest. The Great Barrier Reef is home to a wide variety of marine predators, which are the “orderlies of the coral garden.” At the bottom, squat sharks, carpet sharks, heterotooth sharks, collar sharks and other species of bottom sharks get food. Here you can see nurse sharks, leopard sharks, cat sharks, and spiny representatives of these cartilaginous fish. In the water column, among the coral thickets, numerous reef sharks rule, catching and eating small reef creatures and fish. There are also large sharks - sand, hammerhead, lemon and even white sharks. Divers, swimmers and surfers should be especially careful in these areas.
The famous one also lives here. whale shark! It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest fish on the planet. But you shouldn’t be afraid of it: the “sea monster” feeds exclusively on plankton. Dolphins and killer whales constantly hunt near the reef. Their victims are often baby humpback and minke whales. It is near the Great Barrier Reef that humpback whales breed from June to August. Sea turtles, which are currently endangered, lay their eggs on the reef islands located in the southern part.
All the “tasty” sea creatures - huge octopuses, squids, lobsters, lobsters - also live on the territory of the Great Barrier Reef. And recently, truly huge populations of the crown of thorns starfish have been observed. Today, this starfish is the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. In a couple of months it can destroy a large number of corals. In the habitat of these stars, which can kill even an adult with their poison, a cemetery of corals is formed. No truly effective methods have yet been invented to combat the “crown of thorns”, and, unfortunately, the destruction of entire reefs is happening more and more often.
Besides sea creatures More than 200 species of birds live on the coral islands. As for the flora, it is extremely poorly represented. In the reef area there are barely 40 species of plants that can survive in conditions where even groundwater is highly salty. But this drawback is more than compensated for by the unique aquatic fauna.
Despite its grandeur and massiveness, the Great Barrier Reef is quite vulnerable. Since its inhabitants are an integral, interconnected part of the ecosystem, if the population of one species of creatures sharply decreases or increases, the reef will be in serious danger. This situation occurred in the 70s and 80s of the last century, and is repeated today, with a sharp increase in the number of crown of thorns starfish. According to a study published in October 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences, the Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half of the coral polyps that form its structure.
Another major problem has been widespread coral bleaching due to rapidly warming waters. The algae living in the corals themselves die, and the symbiosis is disrupted. Corals displace dead algae, which, in fact, give them such a bright and attractive color.
The Great Barrier Reef is the eighth wonder of the world, worthy of admiration and requiring careful treatment. It supports life and biodiversity of living organisms, which is why it was selected as a UNESCO site in 1981 World Heritage. Most of reefs are protected by the Marine national park, which helps limit harm from the results of human activity - fishing, environmental pollution, tourism.
Story
The Great Barrier Reef has attracted people since ancient times. Around 10,000 years ago, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples settled on the coral islands.
In 1768, the French navigator Louis de Bougainville discovered the Great Barrier Reef during a research expedition, but did not claim rights to its territory for France. Thus, the famous explorer James Cook became the discoverer of the Great Barrier Reef. On 11 June 1770, his ship HM Bark Endeavor ran aground on a reef, suffering significant damage. The rising tide saved the ship and allowed it to continue sailing. This incident left a deep imprint on the navigator’s soul; in his diary, Cook wrote: "...The dangers that we had previously managed to avoid were insignificant compared to the threat of being thrown onto the reefs, where in a moment there would be nothing left of the ship." Continuing his way north, James Cook discovered a navigable ship near Lizard Island passage and was able to go out to the open sea.
Many ships maneuvering between the coral islands were wrecked. But research continued, because routes to the largest trading cities India and China, as well as the shortest route from Pacific Ocean V Indian Ocean. For decades, sailors have debated which route is safer: the outer route (through the Coral Sea, passing through the reef) or the inland route (between the shore and the reef). One of the most famous shipwrecks on the Great Barrier Reef was HMS Pandora, which sank on August 29, 1791. In 1815, Charles Jeffreys became the first person to sail a ship along the entire landward side of the Barrier Reef. But it was not until the 1840s, after much of the Great Barrier Reef had been extensively explored and mapped, that this route became safer. In the 19th century, scientists began detailed studies of the reef. At the same time they arrive here business people, hoping to realize its commercial potential. By the end of the 19th century, pearls and sea cucumbers obtained from the Great Barrier Reef were already being exported to London, Singapore and Hong Kong. Here, off the eastern coast of Australia, the famous French travel scientist Jacques Yves Cousteau also worked a lot.
Having visited this luxurious marine park, tourists find themselves in a real, colorful, unforgettable fairy tale that cannot be conveyed in photographs! We hope that the Great Barrier Reef can survive as an ecosystem so that our descendants can enjoy this natural masterpiece for many decades to come.
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Filmed from aboard the International Space Station. The image clearly shows that the Great Barrier Reef in Australia consists of three reefs. This is a natural miracle of nature.
Morocco
The rugged, bone-like terrain of Morocco. The picture was taken by an engineer on board the ISS as it flew over the country.
Paris
View of Paris at night from above. The nickname “City of Light” takes on a whole new meaning!
Hubbard Glacier, Alaska
This photograph taken from Landsat 8 (a USGS satellite) shows the Hubbard Glacier thickening and expanding. This is a rare occurrence given that most glaciers around the world are shrinking due to climate change.
Prince Edward Island, Canada
While the station was flying over the eastern part North America, an ISS astronaut photographed eddies forming in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the coast of Prince Edward Island, Canada.
South Sandwich Islands
A masterpiece from NASA? Something like that. Satellite photos show volcanic activity in the South Sandwich Islands. This group uninhabited islands V Atlantic Ocean.
Galapagos Islands
In the summer of 2015, a NASA satellite captured images of the eruption of Mount Wolf. This one high volcano on Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in 33 years. The image shows areas covered with red lava. Solidified lava turns black.
Lake St. Clair
The Landsat 8 satellite captured heart-shaped Lake St. Clair, which is in the Great Lakes system, during a major algae bloom.
Bahamas
This series of tidal channels running between the islands is one of the most recognizable areas for astronauts aboard the ISS.
Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula at night.
The study of this gigantic barrier off the coast of Australia was initiated by the great navigator James Cook. His sailing ship Endeavor became the first ship to navigate the narrow strait between the Great Barrier Reef and the mainland coast. To travel more than a thousand kilometers without maps along a very difficult fairway, replete with shoals and underwater rocks, was, of course, a miracle of nautical art. But even the famous Cook had to experience the treachery of these waters. His Endeavor nevertheless stumbled upon a coral reef, damaged the hull, and only by throwing all the guns and part of the cargo overboard did the English captain manage to get off the cliff and get to the shore.
In the more than two centuries since then, hundreds of ships have been damaged or sunk on the reefs of Australia's coral barrier. Even in the 20th century, maritime disasters occurred here. AND geographical names in this part of the Coral Sea they speak for themselves: Cape Trouble, Torment Bay, the Islands of Hope. It is not for nothing that the waters in the Great Barrier Reef area attract numerous treasure hunters from sunken ships like a magnet.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral ridge, consisting of more than 2,900 reefs and 900 islands of varying sizes, stretching more than 2,600 km along the north coast. east coast Australia and covers an area of 350,000 km². Exact size It is almost impossible to establish the territory, since the area of the islands changes depending on the ebb and flow of the tides. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, territorially belonging to the state of Queensland. In 1979, a national marine park was founded here, which received UNESCO World Heritage status in 1981. The capital of the reef is the city of Cairns. 
From the point of view of sciences such as biology and geology, this is one of the greatest wonders of nature. Only superlatives are rightly attached to it; recognition of it as a natural heritage, biosphere reserve and marine park reflects its global significance.
Some islands, about 100, are permanently covered with vegetation; and another 600 high islands, surrounded by their own reefs. His total area- larger than the area of Great Britain. 
The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from space and is the largest structure formed by billions of tiny living organisms known as coral polyps.
Satellite image of the Great Barrier Reef
The age of individual fragments of the reef reaches 18 million years, but most of them are much “younger” - 500 thousand years.
The reef, which itself is one of the largest geological formations, is essentially composed of living creatures or coral polyps, similar in appearance to the sea anemones found offshore. These tiny primitive organisms live in huge colonies, each of which developed from an individual polyp that underwent countless divisions. 
The first coral reefs at the site of the giant coral barrier arose millions of years ago. But the main part of it is about five hundred thousand years old. During this time, coral polyps managed to erect buildings average height one hundred twenty meters. Construction of the reef continues even now, although it is not easy to notice.
Coral formations
After all, the “houses” of polyps grow very slowly. It takes a whole year for a coral branch to grow just five centimeters. 
The width of the Great Barrier Reef ranges from three hundred meters in the north to five kilometers in the southern part, and from the coast of the mainland it is located at a distance of thirty kilometers (near the Cape York Peninsula) to two hundred and fifty kilometers (near the Tropic of Capricorn).
Describing the underwater kingdom of the Great Barrier Reef, stunning in its beauty and diversity of life, people do not skimp on lush epithets and comparisons: “The World of Blue Dreams”, “The greatest architectural structure of nature on the entire planet”, “A delightful underwater forest”, “The Eighth Wonder of the World”, "Breathtaking underwater landscape", "The richest marine ecosystem in the world."
Indeed, in terms of the number of inhabitants and their strikingly picturesque appearance, the Great Barrier Reef has no equal in the World Ocean. There are about four hundred species of corals alone. Some of them look like the human brain (they are called “brain”), others look like strange lacy mushrooms, branches or curtains, and others look like deer antlers. They can be hard and soft, white and colored, and once you find yourself in their fabulous underwater kingdom, you begin to think that you find yourself in some kind of fantastic garden among strange unearthly flowers: blue, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, red and even black .
Huge tridank
But corals make up only a tenth of the population of the underwater barrier. In addition to them, the reef is home to more than four thousand species of mollusks, from snails to giant meter-long bivalves, as well as sponges, sea anemones, crayfish, crabs, starfish, sea urchins and a variety of algae. 
But the main decoration of the waters of the Great Barrier Reef is, of course, the fish. In terms of exotic coloring and numerous species and forms, neither a flowering mountain meadow nor the world of Disney fairy-tale films can compare with the kingdom of coral fish. Only a small fraction of this multicolor can be seen in marine aquariums of zoos. After all, the number of fish species in the bizarre coral forests of our planet reaches several thousand! 
And the Great Barrier Reef is no exception. One and a half thousand representatives of the ichthyofauna graze in its underwater thickets, washed by the warm waters of the Coral Sea. The names of many of them speak for themselves: butterfly fish, wrasse, clown fish, rockfish, parrot fish, blenny, hedgehog fish, cardinal and even. fish-fly. And besides them, there are sea perches and moray eels, stingrays and sharks, groupers and sea pikes and many other representatives of the fish kingdom. 
Large sea turtles swim to the islands of the southern Great Barrier Reef at night to lay their eggs in holes dug on the beach. Then they cover the masonry with sand, compact it and swim back to the sea. The born offspring have to independently dig their way to the surface and get to their native sea element along the wet sand of a coral beach.
Sea turtle
This is where the turtles, whose shells have not yet hardened, face danger. Thousands of seabirds living on the islands are just waiting for this moment. Swooping down, they grab the baby turtles one after another, and only a few manage to get to the saving water.
As many as two hundred and forty species of birds live on the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. These are petrels, phaetons, frigate birds, gannets, terns, fulmars, white-bellied sea eagles and many others.
But there are few mammals in the waters surrounding the reef. These are mainly whales and dolphins.
And besides them, the dugong, a close relative of the sea cow, also grazes in the algae thickets between the islands.
Beautiful underwater forests and meadows, sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow, seem invulnerable at first glance. Of course, they are made of stone, and what could threaten a stone?
But it turns out that coral reefs are just as vulnerable as any other creature of nature. And the recent disaster that happened to the Australian reef once again reminded of this.
Crown of thorns starfish
In the 1960s and 1970s, the existence of the Great Barrier Reef was threatened due to a sharp increase in the number of starfish. The danger came from one of the species of these echinoderms, wearing beautiful name"crown of thorns" A huge starfish, reaching half a meter in diameter, with numerous tentacles, turned out to be a terrible enemy of coral polyps. By sucking on their buildings, the “crown of thorns” releases digestive juice into the holes of the coral “houses” and digests the polyps, leaving behind a dead zone. In a year, one star can destroy life on six square meters of reef.
The excessive increase in the number of these previously rather rare polyp eaters appeared to be associated with the disappearance in many places of the Great Barrier Reef of their natural enemies - the predatory newt snails. Because of their large, beautiful shells, souvenir hunters collected tons of newts to sell to tourists.
As a result, freed from the natural limiter of their numbers, starfish began to multiply intensively, and entire sections of the coral barrier turned into a lifeless sea desert. Now hunting for newt snails is prohibited, scuba divers armed with syringes with poison are fighting the “crown of thorns”, and little by little the natural balance on the reef is being restored. But in many destroyed areas of the Great Barrier Reef, life will return only in twenty to thirty years.
Napoleon fish
Warm waters, deserted beaches, an abundance of small secluded islands and the opportunity to spend long hours in the exceptionally picturesque underwater kingdom attract hundreds of thousands of tourists to this amazing corner of the Earth. 
Some of them limit themselves to excursions on ships and boats in order to devote the rest of their time to getting to know the equally unique fauna of the Australian coast.
But more purposeful lovers of marine fauna settle on the islands for two to three weeks, tirelessly observing and filming the coral worlds with a video camera. Although the Australians have established a marine reserve here, only a few particularly vulnerable areas of the Great Barrier Reef are strictly protected.
And according to reviews from travelers who have traveled the planet a lot and scuba dived off the coast of the Maldives and Seychelles, Hawaiian Islands and the Galapagos archipelago, which have seen the coral thickets of the Caribbean and Red Seas, French Polynesia and the Palau Islands, undersea world The Great Barrier Reef is unrivaled in scale and diversity.
It’s not for nothing that thousands of tourists fly and sail halfway around the world to distant Australia to enjoy the incomparable charm blue lagoons and straits that contain the countless living treasures of the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef and the largest on Earth natural object, formed by living organisms - it can be seen from space. It has over 2,900 individual coral reefs formed from 400 species of coral and 900 islands in the Coral Sea. The Great Barrier Reef stretches along the northeast coast of Australia for 2,500 km and covers an area of about 344,400 sq. km.
Over the past three decades, the Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its corals.
The structure of this reef is formed (built) from billions of tiny organisms known to science as coral polyps. The Great Barrier Reef supports a huge variety of living organisms and was chosen as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981.
2. The Great Barrier Reef formed along a stable shelf platform, where there is shallow depth and minor displacements earth's surface allowed extensive colonies of reef-building corals to form. The modern history of its development lasts about 8000 years. New layers continue to appear on the old foundation. (Photo by David Gray):
Most of the reefs are underwater (exposed during low tides). In the south, the reef is 300 km from the coast.
3. This is Lady Elliot Island - the southernmost coral island of the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia. (Photo by David Gray):
For most of its geological history, Australia was too cold for corals to exist in its coastal waters. However, about 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, this continent broke away from Antarctica. Australia's move into the tropics coincided with rising sea levels, which created the conditions necessary for the formation of coral reefs near its northeast coast.
4. Coral Beach on Lady Elliot Island. (Photo by David Gray):
Most of the Barrier Reef is less than 400,000 years old (sea levels were too low the rest of the time) and some areas were formed within the last 200 years. The most intensive growth has occurred in the last 8,000 years.
5. Corals and shells on the beach on Lady Elliot Island. (Photo by David Gray):
6. The vulnerability of coral reef ecosystems is due to the fact that corals require special conditions to grow. The water temperature should not be lower than 17.5 °C. (Photo by David Gray):
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest ecosystem because it is a colony of coral polyps. The development of this ecosystem depends on the conditions prevailing in shallow, sunlight-rich waters near the coast. Rising above the surface coral islands, formed over millions of years from the remains of coral polyps. More than 400 species of corals live here.
7. Great Barrier Reef near Lady Elliot Island. (Photo by David Gray):
8. Nowadays, the opportunity to see with your own eyes the underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef attracts people from all over the world. Numerous pleasure boats with special viewing windows ply over the reefs. Tourism is an important economic activity in the region, generating more than $3 billion annually (Photo by David Gray):
9. The main body of the reef consists of more than 2,900 individual reefs ranging in size from 0.01 sq. km to 100 sq. km, which are surrounded by almost 540 barriers forming more than 600 offshore islands, including 250 mainland islands. (Photo by David Gray):
10. The Great Barrier Reef is home to about 1,500 species of marine fish. The number of only massively occurring species of true reef fish, maximally adapted to life in this particular ecosystem, is about 500. It lives here largest fish on land - a whale shark. The South Reef Islands are a breeding ground for sea turtles. Six of the seven species are found in the reef's waters, all of which are endangered. (Photo by David Gray):
11. The Great Barrier Reef supports a huge variety of living organisms and was chosen as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. However, over the past three decades, the Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its corals. (Photo by David Gray):
12. Tropical hurricanes cause enormous damage to the fragile balance of coral reefs. Others cause no less harm natural factors, including periodic population surges of crown-of-thorns starfish feeding on coral polyps. In the early 1980s, these predators caused severe devastation on the Great Barrier Reef.
Today, coral reefs suffer the most from human activity. Mass tourism also poses a known danger. With the development of tourism infrastructure, coastal sea waters are inevitably polluted. (Photo by David Gray):
13. Milky Way on Lady Elliot Island. (Photo by David Gray):
14. Most of the reefs are protected by a Marine National Park covering over 5 million hectares, which helps limit the impact of anthropogenic factors (human activities) such as fishing and tourism. (Photo by David Gray):
15. Great Barrier Reef, Australia. (Photo by David Gray):
