Oris
A Great Cause
Specific to the Great Barrier Reef, which spans for 2,300km across that same coast, the tribe tells an ancient story that has quite accurately chronicled the origins of the waters that cover the reef, for generations now.
Today, modern science confirms that much, if not all, of the shallow seabed that the Great Barrier Reef occupies was, in fact, once dry land. Ten thousand years ago, at the end of the last great Ice Age, the melting of snowcaps caused a great rise in sea levels that engulfed masses of coastal lands — land that includes the northeastern coast of Australia.
The point to establish here is that, just as the story still fairly fresh in the minds of the people who tell it, so the age of the great reef is not that old after all. Coral growth propagates in most shallow tropical waters all around the world. However, for it to occur on the scale of the Great Barrier Reef, and in the amount of time it has taken to do so, is simply unheard of.
Change is happening once again today, except that this time, it’s not initiated by nature. This is a far more rapid change that seems to be on a collision course bound for more damage than anything else in the long run. What’s triggering this is, of course, global warming: an accelerating rise in global temperatures caused by the increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Coral structures are essentially limestone features built up by tiny organism called coral polyps. These creatures are mostly at the mercy of the ocean currents for whatever micronutrients that may float by in order for it to obtain the necessary nutrients. But even before it can obtain nutrients, it must first obtain the energy with which it can feed. This energy is provided for by photosynthesizing algae, which the coral allows to grow on its calcium carbonate abode. It’s a symbiotic relationship of the most visual kind, because it is the various types of algae that grow with their specific partner corals that give rise to the multitude of colors that we so readily identify with coral communities.
Every site we were brought to, be it from within a semi-submersible or left to our own devices to snorkel about in open waters and discover these towering “bommies” covered in colors unimagined, there was life. Every bit of water seemed to be teeming with fish of all sorts, greenback turtles and even carefree reef sharks.
Simply said, the richness of life you encounter in these waters is astounding. And it proves a point — that nature is exceedingly hardy. But the word of caution, and perhaps the other point that was put across to us over the course of the trip by our new friends from the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), who came along for the excursion, was that, yes, there is a fair bit of the reef that is now showing signs of this dire ailment; however, a larger portion of it is still in excellent health. So if we were to make the decision now to fight for its conservation, by affecting global initiatives that trigger healthier oceanic life, then not only will we save what is left of the great reef, but what is lost will also be regained.
The watch itself is a 46mm steel dive watch, created with all of Oris’s dive watchmaking know-how. Fitted with an automatic movement with date indication at six o’clock, the watch is water-resistant to 500m because of its screw-down crown and solid caseback that bears an embossed map of the Australian continent on it. And last but not least is the safety anchor and quick-adjustment sliding-sledge folding clasp developed by Oris that comes with the supplied rubber strap.
Here’s hoping then that this is the point of change — that many other corporations will take a cue from Oris to do their part to bring attention to the plight of one of nature’s greatest gifts to mankind.
If you wish to learn more about the Great Barrier Reef, then I urge you to go pick up a copy of Sir David Attenborough’s newly aired, return to the Great Barrier Reef documentary. It is in this film that Sir Attenborough tells the story of the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people and showcases the great reef to the world like it has never been seen before.