Algal fucoid species such as bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus), brown algae (Fucus disitichus) were the most abundant species present, followed by animal species such as barnacles (Balanus balanoides), sand fleas (Orchestia agilis) and periwinkles (Littorina littorea). Normally barnacles (Balanus balanoides) dominate the supra-littoral mussels dominate the mid-littoral and infra-littoral zone exposed to wave action (Pederson et al., 2000; Hunt and Scheibling, 1995). However, sheltered shores such as Lawrencetown Beach exhibit more algal fucoid growth in the supra-littoral zone followed by Irish moss (Chondrus crispus) in mid-littoral zone (Blaxter and Southward, 1987). There was less Irish moss observed at the site sampled than that mentioned in the…
Sand dune erosion is occurring on the Cronulla coastline due to the coupling of human and natural impacts and is gradually resulting in the beach being less able to be protect itself from natural implications. The constant sand dune erosion is creating a steeper slope this is allowing waves and winds to rapidly remove sand from the dunes. The sand dune erosion is destroying habitats from plants and animals, this is substantially decreasing the biodiversity on the coastal environment. Sand dune erosion is resulting in loose sand to be blown from the dunes because the vegetation has been removed, this is impacting the coastal environment as it is removing all vegetation causing a significant reduction in the biodiversity which is also disrupting the natural processes for the coastal ecosystem. As the sand dunes are eroding since the waves and winds are removing the sand from the shore, the loss of sand results in the beach becoming narrower and closer to the residents.…
The Burnett River’s recreational activities are ruining the environment. * So much so, that the river can be completely ruined if action is not taken. The river descends 485 metres over its length, and the length is 435 kilometres. The river flows south past Eidsvold and Mundubbera before heading east, next to Gayndah and Wallaville before entering the city of Bundaberg. Boating, fishing, and even something as seemingly innocent as camping can deeply affect the environment if done incorrectly.…
How and Why California coast (Pacific Coast) is Eroding faster than it should and the effect of it. I chose the California Coast or the Pacific Coast as it is one of the most popular coasts in the world. California has always been in the news for various natural disasters like forest fires, earthquakes and now Coastal erosion. California is also the World’s IT capital where all the famous companies like Google, Facebook, Apple etc are located. Many Indians migrate to california for jobs.…
It is predicted that global warming will cause major flooding in Delaware along the coastline resulting in the loss of natural habitats, the loss of real estate, and the loss of tax revenue. Loss of Natural Habitats Normally, wet lands keep pace with the gradual sea level rise through constant vegetative growth and a healthy sediment supply from up streams and tributaries. If sediment supply into the estuary system begin to lower, or sea level rise outpaces growth, wet lands can become submerged, and for all intensive purposes, reduced to open water areas. Unfortunately, Delaware is already losing wetland due to the sea level rising. By the end of the century, many of the Delaware bays coastal marshes could disappear.…
Growing up in the Florida Keys, I have been surrounded by the ocean my entire life and have personally witnessed it gradually get destroyed over the years. Because of tourism playing a huge role in the Florida keys, our beaches and oceans are left polluted and leaving our reefs to extinction. Not only in the Keys, but throughout Florida our waters are heavily polluted by the great amount of tourism in our state. In the Florida Keys and the Caribbean, there has been a vast decline in staghorn and elkhorn corals leaving the reefs scattered since the 70’s. As I continued to observe and research this topic, I noticed that humans overlook the effects that they cause and focus on the benefits they receive.…
With 53% of the population living in coastal communities and sea levels rising as a result of climate change, it is crucial that we address the issue through adaptation and mitigation. People living around coastal regions will be more susceptible but we also need to consider the impact on the coastal environments, estuaries and their vegetation and its biodiversity. This piece will analyze the changes of other estuaries to predict what the changes for Newport Back Bay. Because the estuary is surrounded by developed and industrialized land, rising sea levels will have a profound effect on its functions and appearance. Human activities at a global, regional, and local level add additional weight to the wetland’s change as a result of climate…
There are plenty of factors that bring a rise to the problem of coastal degradation. For instance, harsh weather effects, deadly toxins, and even human interaction cause a rapid decline of the land. In the state of Louisiana, these situations are a deadly effect on its' coastline. Aside from these ongoing, or seasonal effects, a new threat has entered the group, and it goes by the name of the Nipponaclerda biwakoensis, or commonly known as 'the scale'.…
Climate change is severely effecting our beaches in Victoria and across Australia. About 24% of the Victorian coast in rock shore, the majority of which is classified as cliffs. While a lot of the coast is still sandy much of this is also classified as a rocky coast with at least 20% of the coast being sandy beaches backed by rock. Coastal areas in Victoria already have some risk of exposure to natural hazards without worsening effects of climate change. For example, Lakes Entrance in East Gippsland is a low-lying town and is vulnerable to flooding and storm surge.…
A dilemma to Florida’s coastline causing catastrophic issues to communities and habitats is coastal erosion. Coastal erosion is defined as a decrease in shoreline due to a physical event that could either be a short or long-term event. Examples of short-term events are waves and hurricanes; a long-term event could be in the rise in sea level (Pilkey, Cooper, 2004). In Florida, hurricanes are common due to warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, thus creating massive amount of coastal erosion in Florida’s coastline affecting the communities and habitats. In order to save Florida’s coastline, coastal erosion must be further investigated to be prevented and to save communities and habitats from being destroyed.…
Heart Reef The Heart Reef, in the Great Barrier Reef, is a beautiful organisation of coral and rocks naturally formed into the shape of a heart. The reef was created by hundreds of years of dead coral building up in a massive, underwater stone wall, which has then grown algae and new coral, which reproduces, dies and grows year by year. The Heart Reef is a beautiful array of stunning coral formations, naturally shaped into a heart.…
Climate change has been a long-term global issue that requires collective global action in the form of flexible yet stable policy implementation by the global actors. As a global actor, Australia’s approach and commitments to action on climate change, has been considered as inconsistent and lacking in direction (Talberg, Hui & Loynes, 2013). Nevertheless Australia’s climate reputation has not always been a negative one, in the early 1990’s Australia’s reputation was even seen as pro-environmental when the labor government “appointed an Ambassador for the environment, sent experts to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), passed the Ozone Protection Act 1989 and committed Australia to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions at 1988…
Global warming is arguably the largest threat facing humanity today, since 1880 the world 's average temperature has gone up by 0.8 degrees Celsius, and already the effects can be seen with an increase global of cyclones, forest fires, drought and floods. Within the United Kingdom, an increase of 1 degree has occurred since the 1970’s, (Naomi Hicks et al 2013). with this increase in average temperature, the main impact predicted to affect the UK is an increase in the amount of rain in the winter and heat in the summer, (2005 friends of the earth report). The UK Climate Change Risk Assessment for 2017, by the united kingdom’s Committee on Climate Change, summarised that the UK is facing 6 main threats from climate change that need addressing…
Climate Change and its Effect on Earth Climate change, you probably have heard of it, but you don’t really see anyone talking about it on the news or social media. This is the problem with society, no one seems to do anything about it. They can’t see the real picture in that the society in general is actually destroying the Earth instead of helping it. Why climate change is a risk and a risk to everyone on Earth is the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2). For thousands of years it’s been at a steady level never exceeding 300 ppm (parts per million) at least not until 1950 where the carbon dioxide levels started to increase because of industrialization.…
Sea level rise and increases in the frequency and severity of coastal flooding (linked to global warming) pose a major threat to the physical and ecological infrastructures in coastal communities (Airoldi et al. 2005; Barbier et al. 2011; Filatova 2014; Pryce and Chen 2011). It is claimed that the adverse economic impacts of flooding (both riverine and coastal) in the U.S are higher than any other natural hazard (Pope 2008). Until recently, however, focus (within the economic literature) has been largely placed on the economic losses associated with flood damage to residential property and other built infrastructures. This focus was at the expense of the natural assets (such as coastal wetlands and beaches) that provide diverse benefits whose…