0 m

Epipelagic

This surface layer is also called the sunlight zone and extends from the surface to 200 meters (660 feet). It is in this zone that most of the visible light exists. With that sunlight comes heat from sun, which is responsible for wide variations in temperature across this zone, both with the seasons and latitudes - sea surface temperatures range from as high as 97°F (36°C) in the Persian Gulf to 28°F (-2°C) near the North Pole.

Wind keeps this layer mixed and thus allows the sun's heat to be distributed vertically. The base of this mixing layer is the beginning of the transition layer called the thermocline.

0 m
Back

Red Sea Deep Blue Expedition (October 7th - November 16th)

The OceanXplorer embarks on its maiden voyage to the captivating blue waters of the Red Sea. On this inaugural science expedition, OceanX and local researchers from Saudi Arabia worked together to map and characterize the deep sea, discover species new to science, and unravel the coral genome to identify the adaptations and distribution of thermally resilient reef systems, aka “Super Corals”.

Additionally, OceanX will survey nearshore and deep-water sites for evidence of the distribution and evolution of Nabatean maritime routes - important trade networks of land and sea passages connecting the Arabian peninsula to the rest of the world.

Science Accomplishments

  • 960 hours and 3,696 km of OceanXplorer operation

  • 11,000 hours of scuba diving surveys

  • 4,307 square km of seabed mapped in 3D high resolution

  • Deployment of 4 satellite tags on marine wildlife and 152 sightings of megafauna (whale sharks, thresher sharks, manta rays, green and hawksbill sea turtles, etc.)

  • 831 hours of submersible and ROV operations

  • 5 new species discovered

  • 20 species documented with range expansions

  • 3 ancient shipwrecks discovered

  • 1 new brine pool discovered

OceanX Ship

Coral Diversity

Scuba surveys combined with ROV and submersible dives revealed a stunning distribution of biodiverse hard corals spanning the photic zone down to the deep-sea. Using standardized transect surveys, researchers compared diversity assessments between each depth gradient to determine how coral reefs and their symbiotic algae adapt to changing environmental conditions and establish a baseline for existing populations. Researchers discovered several new species of endemic corals including the first deep-sea Lace coral ever found in the Red Sea, and corals with undocumented morphologies. The corals of the red sea are known for their resilience to high thermal and saline conditions, understanding how these corals adapt within and across their unique geographical region can offer clues into reef adaptation in warming waters around the globe. 

Read More

Brine Pool Discovery

The discovery of the brine pools in the Gulf of Aqaba at 1,770m deep was one of the most significant discoveries of this expedition. Brine pools are rare habitats composed of hypersaline waster compared to the surrounding ambient seawater causing them to take on the appearance of a pool underwater. Despite pervasive anoxia, low pH, and hypersaline liquids, brine pools are characterized by a rich assemblage of microbes and macrofauna in an otherwise desolate environment. The NEOM brine pools are located extremely close to land (1.8km from the shoreline) and hold records of past climate conditions and geologic events. Samples taken from the pool record a 1600-year history of rainfall and indicate that rainfall may have been 4-5x greater in the past than at present, which would have transforming the dry desert we know today to a lush jungle-like habitat (Purkis et al. 2025).

Read More

Publications

Bacterioplankton dark CO2 fixation in oligotrophic waters

Alothman, A., López-Sandoval, D., Duarte, C. M., & Agustí, S. (2023). Biogeosciences, 20(17), 3613–3624.

Source

Mesophotic and Bathyal Palaemonid Shrimp Diversity of the Red Sea, with the Establishment of Two New Genera and Two New Species

Anker, A., Vimercati, S., Barreca, F., Marchese, F., Chimienti, G., Terraneo, T.I, Rodrigue, M., Eweida, A.A., Qurban, M., Duarte, C.M., Pieribone, V., & Benzoni, F. (2023). Diversity, 15, 1028.

Source

Low diversity and abundance of predatory fishes in a peripheral coral reef ecosystem

Williams, C. T., Garzon, F., Cochran, J. E. M., Tanabe, L. K., Hawkes, L. A., McIvor, A. J., Eweida, A. A., Marshall, P. A., & Berumen, M. L. (2024). Low diversity and abundance of predatory fishes in a peripheral coral reef ecosystem. Ecology and Evolution, 14(2), e10920. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10920

Source

Discovery of the deep-sea NEOM Brine Pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

Purkis, S. J., Shernisky, H., Swart, P. K., Sharifi, A., Oehlert, A., Marchese, F., Benzoni, F., Chimienti, G., Duchâtellier, G., Klaus, J., Eberli, G. P., Peterson, L., Craig, A., Rodrigue, M., Titschack, J., Kolodziej, G., & Abdulla, A. (2022). Discovery of the deep-sea NEOM Brine Pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00482-x

Source

Passive acoustic monitoring and visual sighting survey of cetacean occurrence patterns in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Duporge, I., Lee, R., Eweida, A., Mackelworth, P., Ten, S., Alghamdi, A., Alkhamis, R., Cochran, J., Lee, S., & Klinck, H. (2024). Passive acoustic monitoring and visual sighting survey of cetacean occurrence patterns in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Marine Mammal Science, n/a(n/a), e13113. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13113

Case report: tracking data from foraging hawksbill turtles in the northern Red Sea

Tanabe, L. K., Cochran, J. E. M., Williams, C. T., Garzon, F., Langner, U., Hardenstine, R. S., Hawkes, L. A., Brainard, R. E., Eweida, A. A., Marshall, P. A., & Berumen, M. L. (2023). Case report: Tracking data from foraging hawksbill turtles in the northern Red Sea. Animal Biotelemetry, 11(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-022-00314-x

Source

Molecular diversity of black corals from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea: a first assessment

Vicario, S., Terraneo, T. I., Chimienti, G., Maggioni, D., Marchese, F., Purkis, S. J., Eweida, A. A., Rodrigue, M., & Benzoni, F. (2024). Molecular diversity of black corals from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea: A first assessment. Invertebrate Systematics, 38(4), NULL-NULL. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS23041

Source
Previous Mission