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Published online 6 June 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.877

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Bleak future for acid oceans

Volcanic vents give a glimpse of a world without corals and other creatures.

If climate change continues apace, the oceans of the future may be empty of corals, sea urchins and other organisms that are vital to the marine ecosystem. A survey of life around oceanic volcanic vents has found that these animals cannot survive in environments rich in carbon dioxide that mimic the future seas.

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