India, Oct. 27 -- Where does the carbon dioxide from our cars and power plants go? Part of it ends up in the ocean, and scientists wanted to know what that does to a coral reef. According to a California Academy of Sciences press release, a team of researchers led by Rebecca Albright and Ken Caldeira tested this on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. They bubbled carbon dioxide into a tank of seawater, pumped it onto the reef, and allowed it to flow across. The water was made as acidic as it is projected to become by the end of this century if emissions continue unchecked. The reef built up calcium carbonate more slowly.

Many previous studies have mainly concentrated on single species or single organisms. This one aimed bigger. The team work...