High levels of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans are likely slowing down coral growth, according to a new study.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, looked at One Tree Reef in the southern Great Barrier Reef. Researchers pumped a sodium hydroxide solution over the reef that lowered the acidity of the water, bringing the alkalinity close to the level it would have been in pre-industrial times, when atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide levels were far lower than they are today.

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Photo credit: Gareth Williams (Flickr)