ACTIVITIES BOOK - Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

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Reef Beat Poster 3 – Climate change impacts onthe Great Barrier ReefKey messages of Poster 3: Climate change is likely to have a wide range of impacts on theReef. These will affect plants, animals and the chemical and physiological processes that driveecosystem productivity. Climate change impacts on the Reef will have dramatic effects onhumans.Related resources:• Reef Beat Poster 3• Townsville City Council’s Spatial Technologies in School’s Program. Contact KennethMelchert: kenneth.melchert@townsville.qld.gov.auSpatial data technology available for schools in the Townsville region (includingtopographic maps of Townsville• ‘Impacts of climate change’ animation (provided on Reef Beat DVD)www.gbrmpa.gov.auwww.reefed.gov.auThis animation gives an overview of the potential impacts climate change couldhave on the Great Barrier Reef. Designed for a general audience.• Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reefwww.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/climate_changeLearn about the impacts of climatechange on the Great Barrier Reef.• Oceana climate campaignwww.oceana.org/climate/home/Find out all about how climate changeaffects our oceans.• ReefBasewww.reefbase.org/Access data and information on thelocation, status, threats, monitoring,and management of coral reefresources in over 100 countries andterritories.Activity 1: Sea level rise mappingKey learning objective: Students will visualisesea level rise and understand its effects on coastalecosystems and communities.2400?:4-6m metresea level riseBackground: Have students think about sea level.Which areas are most vulnerable to sea level rise?What types of ecosystems are most vulnerable inthe Great Barrier Reef Marine Park? What marineanimals or plants are most vulnerable? What aboutlow lying islands? How much beach is left whenthe tide is high? What would happen if it wereeven higher? If students need prompting, considerreminding them of who/what lives at the beach orin wetlands and how they will be affected.2100:1m metre sealevel rise2050:68cm metresea level rise2020:38cm metresea level rise7Reef Beat 2009 - Climate Change and the Reef
1mWhat you will need:1. topographic map of yourtown (photocopied) or ourexample of a coastal town(maps for Townsville areprovided in the OtherResources folder)2. textas, pencils, orhighlighters in a rangeof coloursInstructions: Have studentslook at the map to determinelow lying areas. Theirexperiences should helpwith this. If the map isn’talready coloured, get thestudents to colour ineverything at or below sealevel (to illustrate wherewater currently exists). Thecontour lines on the mapindicate elevation. Using thebelow table of climatechange predictions from theIntergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC), askstudents to use differentcolours to indicate which areaswill be under water by 2020,2050, 2100 and in the moredistant future.4m4m2m2m1m1m1m2mA personal perspective: Have studentsconsider what this means to them and their town. What will happen toyour school or community if the ocean rises by one metre? Whathappens if this occurs in conjunction with king tides or a storm surgein your area? Flooding and severe weather are likely to increase withclimate change. Will this affect your findings? Can you find your homeon the map? When will your home be impacted by sea level rise?Table 1. Sea level rise projections if climate change continues at itscurrent rateProjected change 2020 2050 2100 Eventual sea level rise(when ice caps melt)Sea level rise 38 cm 68 cm 1 m 4-6 m**If climate change continues at its current rate, we could be committed to this 4-6 mrise by 2100. Based on palaeoclimatic evidence, however, this would take severalhundred years to occur completely (e.g. not until 2300 or later).Activity 2: Climate change futures wheelKey learning objective: Small changes in the climate can result inbig changes on the Reef. After completing this activity, students willdevelop an understanding of the flow-on effects of climate changewithin coral reef ecosystems.Background: Students should have a basic awareness about climatechange and its potential impacts on the Reef. They may have already readBright idea:The concept of partsper million (ppm) isimportant for studentsto understand how variousconcentrations of carbon dioxidewill affect our planet. This is adifficult concept to visualise. Thinkof a creative way to help studentsconceptualise ppm (e.g. one colouredgrain of rice in a million, one tree ina forest of a million, or one drop ofcoloured water in a million). Discussthe threshold levels of carbondioxide and other greenhouse gases(in terms of ppm) and theirpotential environmental impacts.See Poster 3 for images of whatthe Reef could look like undervarious concentrations of carbondioxide and ask students to conductmore specific research on howvarious ppm will affect coral reefs.8Reef Beat 2009 - Climate Change and the Reef
Page 3: Notes for TeachersReef Beat: Climat
Page 6: Reef Beat Poster 1 - What is climat
Page 9 and 10: Reef Beat Poster 2 - Coral Bleachin
Page 11: music (musical intelligence)Create
Page 15 and 16: Reef Beat Poster 4 - Ocean acidific
Page 17 and 18: Instructions:1) Add lots of sugar t
Page 20: corers). You might ask students to
Page 23 and 24: What you will need:1. the world map
Page 25 and 26: adulthood. While the turtles are gr
Page 27 and 28: Reef Beat Poster 8 - Seabirds are f
Page 30 and 31: What you will need:1. rope or chalk
Page 33 and 34: taking to help combat these pressur
Page 35 and 36: Reef Beat Poster 10 - What you can
Page 37 and 38: environmental actions that have alr
Page 39 and 40: GLOSSARY OF TERMSacid - scientists
Page 41: sustainability - in an ecological c

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