Coral growth in decline at Great Barrier Reef

Warming, more acidic oceans cited; ‘pretty scary’ findings, one expert says

The rate at which corals absorb calcium from seawater to calcify their hard skeletons

“The data suggest that such a severe and sudden decline in calcification is unprecedented in at least the past 400 years,” the researchers stated in the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Science.

A reef expert not involved in the study described it as “very important.” In a commentary posted on newsvine.com for msnbc.com, John Bruno added that “the findings are frankly pretty scary.”

MSNBC