Man-made nutrient pollution could make coral reefs more vulnerable to ocean acidification

A team of scientists from California State University and University of Hawaii carried out a series of laboratory experiments adding nitrate and phosphate to aquariums that contain the coral reef community (corals, seaweeds and dead reef rubble). Their experiments showed that in nutrient polluted seawater, the calcification by coral reefs became less effective disrupting the relationship between net calcification and aragonite saturation state. This suggests that nutrient pollution caused by human activities in land could make coral reefs more vulnerable to global changes associated with ocean acidification, and thus accelerate the projected shift from net calcification to net dissolution.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1880/20172718