AUSTRALIA

Release date: 11/21/19

In Australia, Shebbie applies her hard-won dive skills and gains new insight into what it means to truly live life well.

Inside the Episode: Australia

The Great Barrier Reef:

Visible from outer space and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Great Barrier Reef is the largest -and surely one the most impressive - natural wonder anywhere in the world. An astounding coral reef system stretching over 1,400 miles,

The Great Barrier Reef is composed of billions of coral polyps and is home to one of the largest and most diverse ecosystems of underwater life on the planet. More than 1,500 fish species are endemic to The Great Barrier Reef, including many endangered species found nowhere else on Earth. From saltwater crocodiles to sea turtles, sharks to molluscs, birds to sea-grass, the other animal and plant species that make up the 70 bioregions of the The Great Barrier Reef number in the many thousands and cement the reefs uniquely diverse makeup.

The Great Barrier Reef was formed when sea levels rose at some point in the past, creating a shallow sea, and exposing the region to the conditions under which coral reefs thrive. While scientists still debate the exact date of the reef’s formation, The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority holds that the oldest living reef structure began growing almost 20,000 years ago, with older, dead reef structures predating that (potentially as early 600,00 years ago).

Diverse species of fish call The Great Barrier Reef home. (CC 4.0 Workfortravel) — Diverse species of fish call The Great Barrier Reef home. *(CC 4.0* *Workfortravel*)

Environment Threats:

*Courtesy of The University of Queensland (Public Domain)*

A feature of our planet for more than half a million years, The Great Barrier Reef now faces new environmental threats in the modern era. The fragile conditions that make the life of this monumental coral reef system possible are threatened by rising global sea temperatures, which are killing off the coral in mass coral bleaching events. Coral bleaching is when the coral is forced, due to increased temperature, to expel the algae that protects it, leading to increased risk of starvation or disease. As the reefs die, so to do the species of wildlife that call the reefs home.

While Australia’s government enacted a 35-year plan for the protection of the reef in 2015, many still fear that unless global climate change policies are effected worldwide, the damage to the reef and other delicate ecosystems like it will continue unabated, leaving the long-term future of one of the worlds natural wonders uncertain.