What is the landscape of the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s biggest natural wonder and the largest complex coral reef system on the entire planet. It’s made up of almost 3,000 individual reefs that sprawl out over an area of 344,400 square kilometres, including 900 paradise islands in its clutches.
Why is the Great Barrier Reef an iconic landscape?
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the planet’s most extraordinary natural wonders, its largest coral reef system and the only living organism that can be spotted from space. Protecting the reef (there are actually almost 3,000 sections) is essential given its remarkable ecosystem and myriad marine life.
What are the features of the Great Barrier Reef?
Some key facts about the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park:
- covers 344,400 km2 in area.
- includes the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem.
- includes some 3000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands.
What hemispheres is the Great Barrier Reef in?
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is an immense and very unique coral reef. The continent of Australia, in the southern hemisphere, is about as big as the entire United States. One of Earth’s wonders – the Great Barrier Reef – is located off the northeastern side of Australia.
Are humans destroying the Great Barrier Reef?
Human activity has in recent years led to the loss of large sections of Reef and raised serious questions about the strength of its biodiversity and its long-term future. Meanwhile, sediment reaching the Reef has increased up to 10 times in some areas in the last 150 years, mostly due to grazing and cropping expansion.
What will happen to the Great Barrier Reef in the future?
(CNN) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef seems indestructible from afar: Its 2,600-kilometer-long clusters of corals are even visible from outer space. But on closer examination, the story loses some of its beauty. The reef — along with the multibillion dollar tourist industry it supports — could be extinct by 2050.
What will the Great Barrier Reef be like in 20 years?
“The model projections suggest that coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef could fall below 10 percent within 20 years.” But ambitious human interventions combined with “strong global climate action” could slow the rate of decline, said Condie, a senior research scientist at the government’s science agency CSIRO.