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Ashly McMahon
The world’s coral reefs could start to disappear by the middle of the century as stress induced by climate change erodes their skeletons faster than they can regenerate.
Corals build their skeletons using calcium and carbonate ions in seawater, a process known as calcification. Climate change is making calcification harder by driving ocean acidification, which reduces the concentration of carbonate ions in the water. It is also causing more severe weather events like heatwaves and cyclones, which stress corals and deplete their energy for growth.
To see how this is affecting global reef health, Kay Davis at Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia, and her colleagues analysed data from 36 coral reef sites in 11 countries, including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Shiraho Reef in Japan.