How does global warming affect the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area?
Naturally occurring gases in Earth’s atmosphere act as a blanket around the earth, and help maintain its temperature. This is known as the greenhouse effect. Since the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, large quantities of these ‘greenhouse gases’ such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have been added to Earth’s atmosphere as a consequence of human activity. This has led to an increase in the amount of heat from solar radiation trapped by Earth’s atmosphere, leading to warmer global temperatures. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are expected to reach double pre-industrial levels by the year 2065. It is predicted that Earth’s temperature will continue to rise by approximately 0.3 ºC per decade as a consequence of increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, and this is estimated to result in an increases in sea temperature of 1 oC to 2 oC by 2100. Elevated seawater temperatures will bleach and ultimately kill corals. See our genera
