Thursday, September 6, 2007
NASA Helps Monitor Bleaching :Travel The Great Barrier Reef in Australia
From: http://australiatravelaustralia.blogspot.com/2007/07/nasa-helps-monitor-bleaching-travel_05.html
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of roughly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands that stretch for 2,600 kilometres (1,616 mi) and cover an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (132,974 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. The Great Barrier Reef supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN has labelled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The Queensland National Trust has named it a state icon of Queensland.
A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as overfishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures to the reef and its ecosystem include water quality from runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish.
Due to its vast biodiversity, warm clear waters and its accessibility from the floating guest facilities called 'live aboards', the reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially scuba divers. Many cities along the Queensland coast offer daily boat trips to the reef. Several continental and coral cay islands have been turned into resorts, including the pristine resort island of Lady Elliot Island.
As the largest commercial activity in the region, it was estimated in 2003 that tourism in the Great Barrier Reef generates over AU$4 billion annually. (A 2005 estimate puts the figure at AU$5.1 billion.) Approximately two million people visit the Great Barrier Reef each year. Although most of these visits are managed in partnership with the marine tourism industry, there are some very popular areas near shore (such as Green Island) that have suffered damage due to overfishing and land based run off.
A variety of boat tours and cruises are offered, from single day trips, to longer voyages. Boat sizes range from dinghies to superyachts. Glass-bottomed boats and underwater observatories are also popular, as are helicopter flights. By far, the most popular tourist activities on the Great Barrier Reef are snorkelling and diving, for which pontoons are often used, and the area is often enclosed by nets. The outer part of the Great Barrier Reef is favoured for such activities, due to water quality.
Management of tourism in the Great Barrier Reef is geared towards making tourism ecologically sustainable. A daily fee is levied that goes towards research of the Great Barrier Reef. This fee ends up being 20% of the GBRMPA's income. Plans of management are also in place for the popular tourist destinations of Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands, which account for 85% of the tourism in the region. Policies on cruise ships, bareboat charters, and anchorages limit the traffic on the Great Barrier Reef.
The 2003 Pixar film, Finding Nemo, featured the Great Barrier Reef as a setting.
Lady Elliot Island is the southern-most coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The island lies 85 kilometres north-east of Bundaberg and covers an area of approximately 40 hectares. The island is home to a small resort and airstrip, which is serviced daily by flights from Gladstone, 1770, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Maroochydore, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Visitors to the resort can stay in a variety of accommodation, from suites to tent cabins. Activities on the island include reef walking, scuba diving, snorkelling and bird, turtle and whale watching. The island is particularly renowned for its scuba diving and snorkelling, as its location far offshore at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef results in unrivalled water clarity.
Lady Elliot Island is one of only six island resorts on the Great Barrier Reef, and one of only three with direct flight access to the island airstrip. The island is located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in the highest possible classification of Marine National Park Zone as designated by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Lady Elliot is an island teeming with life and live corals, famous for a resident population of 40 manta rays which form the iconic logo of the island's resort.
NASA satellites that monitor ocean color and temperature have joined a global effort to study the worrisome bleaching of coral in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the U.S. space agency said Wednesday.
Coral reefs get bleached when water is too warm, which forces out tiny algae that live in the coral and help it to thrive and give it its vivid color, NASA said in a statement. Without these algae, coral can whiten and eventually die.
"Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the largest and most complex system of reefs in the world, and like so many of the coral reefs in the world's oceans, it's in trouble," said oceanographer Gene Carl Feldman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center outside Washington.
NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites offer data about ocean surface temperature and color, available online within three hours of the satellites' pass. Color is linked to the concentration of chlorophyll in ocean plants, and shows changes in the ocean's biological productivity.
Researcher Scarla Weeks at the University of Queensland, Australia, use the satellite data to observe changes in sea surface temperatures and ocean primary productivity along the Great Barrier Reef and surrounding waters.
"The Great Barrier Reef is an icon, and we just want to know what we can do to save it," said Weeks in the statement. "Sea surface temperatures over the last five months are actually higher in certain locations now than they were in 2002 when we witnessed the worst bleaching incident to date."
References
Reuters. 2006. NASA Helps Monitor Bleaching of Great Barrier Reef(online)from www.nasa.gov
wikipedia. 2007. Australia(online)from www.wikipedia.org
Auckland: mixture of natural and urban
Auckland is a huge port city with a picturesque location: from the sight grounds located on tops of extinct volcanos one can see the Pacific ocean and the Tasman Sea at a time. Prior to 1865, Auckland was the capital of the New Zealand. It is situated in the narrowest part of the Northern island, between two gulfs.
This huge megapolis is really a unique place – almost the whole city is built up with one-storied buildings, but at the same time, it is the country’s industrial, cultural and economic centre. Auckland is rather a young city, that is why it isn’t rich in historic attractions. Still, the city itself is a picturesque place. You will be impressed with its wealth of vivid multicoloured flowers, bushes, well-groomed lawns, squares and parks. Auckland is one of the ten best cities on earth to live in, and third part of the New Zealand population lives here.
Auckland is often called the City Of Sails, the country’s main sea and air gates. It is filled with the atmosphere of sea adventures, voyages and yachting. Thanks to its convenient location on the cross-roads of the Pacific sea routes, it is the traditional port for international regattas. In 1999, the city received one of the most prestigious sailing races - America's Cup. If a European is used to having a car, Aucklanders usually have yachts. But what about the city itself? Noisy streets of its business centre contrast with silence and calmness of endless bedroom communities. The city is full of greenery: Victoria park, Western Park, Myers Park, Albert park and a huge Auckland Domain park add to the city’s charm.
There are also many attractions in Auckland, including The University, North Head – the whole fortification located on a hill, Fort Victoria, beautiful Victorian-style mansions in Parnell suburb, Harbour Bridge (built in 1959), Michael Joseph Savage Memorial from which you can observe a beautiful panorama over the city and the seacoast, memorial “One Tree Hill”, Rainbow's End Theme Park in Manukau City, Sky Tower Sky (328 meters high – the highest construction in Oceania) with a culture and business centre around it, memorial colonial-style village on the Bells Road street, Sentinel park, Chamberlayne Park and a huge aquarium.
Auckland also boasts of a huge amount of its cultural attractions, such as The Auckland Museum which offers a rich historic collection, the National Maritime Museum, Auckland's Museum of Transport, Auckland Zoo on the Motion Road, Manurewa Botanic Garden, Long Bay Regional Park and Lake Pupuke in Davenport as well as picturesque wine yards along Lincoln Road.
Lots of entertainment is waiting for you in Auckland. It is here that Heineken tennis championship is held January 12th – 17th. Among the others events that take place here are: Pacifica Regatta (March), Fiesta Week firework festival (the middle of March) and Trans-Tasman Games.
Go to Auckland hotels reservation to book a room in Auckland hotel.
hotelsrates.net - online hotel reservation.
Bullets Over Qualicum
Heritage Cottage in Qualicum, BC - Rich in Regional History
What do “Bullets” Johnson, Naval Commander Sunderland, Brigadier General Money, and I have in common? We're all connected to Heritage Cottage in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, BC. Bullets was a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman who was wounded a dozen times or so in bank holdups and gun battles. He retired as an RCMP Superintendent and was one of the more colorful residents of Heritage Cottage. Brigadier General Noel Money was the original owner of the land Heritage Cottage is built on. Naval Commander Ian Sunderland and his wife Nancy owned the house during the 70’s. I stayed there for one memorable night recently. Thank goodness the bullets stopped flying over Qualicum Beach many years ago. The average age of Qualicum residents is currently 60 years, so Qualicum has grown up and calmed down.
Heritage Cottage and the lands around it are ripe with history and in the centre of Qualicum Beach. Hal and Jody Volger have incorporated the history of the cottage and the area as a theme for their B&B. The cottage has been restored true to the vintage of the home. It is decorated with a historical theme and showcases many antiques that reflect the history.
We arrive late in the afternoon. Hal and Jody greet us at the front door. They escort us to our room first, then provide us with a tour of the Bed and Breakfast and the beautiful grounds. It’s evident very early on that Hal and Jody are determined to set their B&B apart from others by paying special attention to the needs of their guests. They give new meaning to going the extra mile. Upon arriving we’d noticed two antique cars in the parking area. Hal uses them to pick up guests who arrive by train, bus, or plane! Bikes and fishing rods are available for guests to use. The rooms are full of special features and amenities, such as: gas fireplaces, under-floor radiant heating, double sound-proofing for extra privacy, private patios, cable TV, ensuite baths with soaker tubs and showers, fine linens, feather duvets, individual robes, and quality toiletries.
When we return from dinner, there are two glasses of sherry and Bernard Callebaut chocolates waiting for us. A carafe of ice water is also sitting on our table. Outside our room is a common area with comfy couches, a chess board set up and ready to go, fresh homemade baking, and self-serve drinks. Soft music is playing.
As someone who makes a living in tourism, I’m hard-pressed to think of anything that’s missing. There’s even a special space to set our luggage, room in the bathroom for our toiletries, lots of mirrors and other small touches - like fresh air spray in the bathroom and a Dixie cup dispenser. Each room also has a cute outside seating area.
We awake the next morning to the incredible aroma of breakfast cooking. When we arrive at the dining area, we see that our breakfast menu is posted on a quaint chalk board sitting on an easel. The breakfast is gourmet, delicious, and as special as the accommodations and hosting.
Jody is an excellent cook and we encourage her to complete the cook book she is working on. As breakfast unfolds, we get to know the other couple staying here, as well as their son. The experience of sharing breakfast with people from different places and different backgrounds is what Bed and Breakfasts are all about. It’s what sets B&B’s apart from other types of accommodations.
Hal and Judy demonstrate their knowledge of the area and direct us to places to eat, activities to take part in, and sites to see. Qualicum Beach is abundant with activities and attractions. Qualicum has lots of great walking trails and many are close to Heritage Cottage. There are also six golf courses in the area and on this trip we take advantage of one of the best, Arrowsmith Golf Course. We like it because it is executive length and the course doesn’t beat us up. It is well maintained and very scenic with Mount Arrowsmith as a backdrop. Qualicum is a golfer’s Mecca.
We leave Qualicum knowing that we have found one of the better B&B’s on Vancouver Island. My only disappointment is that I didn’t get to the Coombs Country Market for an ice cream cone and that I couldn’t have a drink with Bullets Johnson.
|
