Travel Reference
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but the marine wildlife that lives in abundance
here. The more scientists understand about the
precise effects of climate change on the coral the
better they will be able to protect it in the future.
By filling in a “Coral Health Chart” each time
you snorkel or dive, you can combine underwater
exploration with invaluable conservation work.
Whenever you come across coral, match it by
colour and type to a corresponding example on
the chart, and your data can be used to analyze
the changes occurring throughout the reef.
Sadly the issue of coral bleaching extends far
beyond the Great Barrier Reef: alarming research
indicates that since 1980 twenty percent of the
world's reefs have already died and another
fifty percent face imminent or long-term risk of
collapse. Logging the extent of coral bleaching
may seem inconsequential, but when you consider
that almost two million people visit the Great
Barrier Reef every year, then every contribution
counts.
480 help conserVe The greaT
barrier reef, ausTralia
Scientists will tell you Australia's Great Barrier
Reef is one continuous living structure, but
to everyone else it is an enormous adventure
playground. Especially for scuba divers: beneath
the vivid turquoise waters lies an extraordinary
world of coral gardens and tropical fish.
Snorkellers exploring the shallow sections of
the reef are hardly limited to a second-rate
experience either, as visibility of up to 40m
allows them to observe almost as much as the
divers.
At around 600,000 years old, it's tempting
to imagine that this World Heritage Site is
resilient to the passing of time, but recently its
ecosystem has become dangerously unbalanced.
Irresponsible tourism and chemical pollution
have been damaging, but climate change has
had the most devastating impact on its coral
reefs. The warming seas have caused the tiny
algae zooxanthellae, which lives symbiotically
with coral (providing it with food and colour) to
migrate away, leaving these intricate formations
white and susceptible to decay.
Coral bleaching threatens not only the reef itself
Need to know
To order a Coral Health Chart
and submit your recordings online visit
W
www.
coralwatch.org. Project AWARE has registered over
five hundred coral-monitoring locations worldwide
to help direct you to the most useful recording
sites. For a full list of participating dive centres see
W
www.projectaware.org.
More than just a dive: recording
a coral health chart
481 The walls of jerusaleM,
TasMania
“The Walls” - a jagged ridge that walls in a
plateau at Tasmania's centre - is the forgotten
part of Tasmania's World Heritage wilderness.
On the other side of its dolerite spine lies Cradle
Mountain, the busiest bit of bush in Tasmania.
What keeps the alpine wonderland of The Walls
crowd-free is a stiff three-hour haul up to the
lake-pocked plateau. And if that doesn't deter
the happy hordes, try fickle weather that swings
from snow to sunburn within the hour year-
round, and verges on dangerous in winter.
Pass through Herods Gate mountain pass,
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