Saturday, 11 March 2017
At Sea — Arafura Sea
Stats @ Ship’s Time 1:30p (AEST) … UTC 3:30a (11 March)
Temp: 83.7F (28.7C)
Position: 10.46.41S / 140.27.80E
Men argue. Nature acts.
~ Voltaire ~
We turned the corner of the Australian continent in the wee hours of this morning and are currently somewhere above the Gulf of Carpentaria. It’s a quiet day as Poseidon continues to be good to us in the Arafura Sea … the waters separating Australia and Papua New Guinea / Indonesia. In fact, we thank the God of the Seas for being kind to us in the Tasman and Coral Seas as well and pray we remain in his good graces for much of what remains of our voyage … a little under four months … if you can believe it!
There are various newsletter editions delivered to passengers aboard Insignia. These are free of charge, and though the news is a day old, they contain snippets that we might otherwise miss if we aren’t tuned into the news channels on TV. The newsletters are country-specific … there’s the USA Times, Britain Today, Giornale Italiano, Australia Today … just to name a few.
With nothing exciting going on, I thought I would share an article I read in Australia Today back on 24 February. The topic of the article … the Great Barrier Reef — appropriate, I think, since we were enjoying the GBR just two days ago. The headline read ‘Severe’ Reef Bleaching, and that caught my attention. Here’s the text, as published in the newsletter …
BRISBANE (AAP) - High temperatures in the past year have led to more “moderate to severe” coral bleaching on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority conducted 54 spot checks of six reefs between Cairns and Townsville this week following early warning system reports of further bleaching.
GBRMP chairman Dr Russell Reichert said each of the reefs had experienced thermal stress, caused by a year’s worth of above average temperatures and current sea temperatures that were two degrees warmer than usual.
“Initial survey results showed high levels of bleaching among the most sensitive coral species, with 60 percent or more affected at some sites,” he said in a statement released on Friday.
“However, coral species generally resistant to bleaching, such as boulder corals, fared better, displaying a much lower incidence of bleaching.”
Dr Reichert said the results proved to Australia and the world that the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions needed to be implemented as a matter of urgency.
“It also emphasizes the importance of the Reef 2050 Plan and the Authority’s ongoing management to build reef resilience,” he said.
Queensland Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles took delegates of the Climate Action Roundtable, held in Cairns, out to the reef on Friday to illustrate how it was suffering.
THE GBR is a long reef system — over 1,240-miles (2,000 km) long. I have no way of knowing where the testing was done, but Mui said Hastings Reef showed quite a bit of evidence of bleaching. When we come back to Australia, he would like to check out some of the other reefs for comparison … I think we might need to return sooner rather than later.
New growth rims some bleached coral at Hastings Reef.
We need to protect the wonders of our world … and recognizing that climate change is real is the first step IMHO for doing so.
© 2015-2017 — All rights reserved by Erin Erkun.
Amen, sister! How anyone can dispute climate change is beyond my comprehension. I worry what we are doing (or not doing) for future generations. As I read your blog, I wonder if the treasures you've shared through your beautiful words and pictures will be there for my grandchildren to experience. God save us all from corporate greed, personal selfishness and/or ignorance, all of which I believe drive the fallacy that climate change isn't real.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Erin, for posting the article. Although I am afraid that blogs like yours are speaking to people who already feel as we do about this particular issue. Most people who truly care about the environment, who enjoy traveling and seeing plants and animals have a different view of the world. Makes me truly sad. As you said, sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteMui snorkeled at Hastings Reef and saw quite a bit of bleaching, and we snorkeled at Michaelmas Reef in December (a bit south of Hastings) and we saw very little bleaching except in shallow water -- makes you wonder. But, it's a well-known fact that ocean temps are rising, (two degrees warmer at the GBR), yet all we hear is talk: talk is cheap; actions speak louder than words. Sooner, rather than later ... good thinking.
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