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.
Red Sea Decade Expedition 2022 (February 4th - June 12th)
The Red Sea is a narrow ocean basin between Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea, in the west, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the east. The Red Sea is distinctive in many ways, containing the world’s warmest and saltiest water, as well as one of the world’s most heavily trafficked passageways between Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. OceanX returns to the Red Sea to further scientific exploration of this regions remarkable biodiversity novel deep-sea ecosystems.
Science Accomplishments:
69,254 square km of habitat were mapped
139 ROV dives were performed
89 sub dives were performed
3,223 samples from underwater vehicles were collected
173 CTD casts conducted
950 samples collected
53 scuba dives with 41 samples collected from scuba dives
186 hours of helicopter flights
1,318 individual megafauna sightings (whale sharks, Bryde's whales, hammerheads, thresher sharks, dugongs, oceanic manta rays)
101 drone flights
3 oceanic vortexes identified in the Red Sea
42 hours of predator footage with over 100 encounters (Beneath The Waves)
Coral communities observed and characterized up to 400 m below the surface
Collected drone footage of the SS Argonaftis
Collected footage on small and large chimney fields along the shores of a brine pool
Dive deeper into the expedition with our Red Sea Storymaps developed by OceanX Intern Sammy Basa
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Publications
Angulo-Preckler, C., Steckbauer, A., Armelles, I., Agustí, S., Rodrigue, M., Pieribone, V., Qurban, M., & Duarte, C. M. (2023). First record of a live adult heteropod Firoloida desmarestia in the Red Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1215195. https://doi.org/10.3389/FMARS.2023.1215195
Frappi, S., Williams, C., Pilcher, N., Rodrigue, M., Marshall, P., Pieribone, V., Duarte, C. M. (2023). New depth records and novel feeding observations of three elasmobranchs species in the eastern red sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1270257
Deep-water corals indicate the Red Sea survived the last glacial lowstand
Chakraborty, M. I., Sharifi, A., Benzoni, F., Tissot, F. L. H., Pourmand, A., Taviani, M., Howes, B., Swart, P. K., Lu, C., Rodrigue, M., & Purkis, S. J. (2025). Deep-water corals indicate the Red Sea survived the last glacial lowstand. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(8), e2415559122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415559122
Consistent Symbiodiniaceae community assemblage in a mesophotic-specialist coral along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea
Vimercati, S., Terraneo, T. I., Castano, C. B., Barreca, F., Hume, B. C. C., Marchese, F., Ouhssain, M., Steckbauer, A., Chimienti, G., Eweida, A. A., Voolstra, C. R., Rodrigue, M., Pieribone, V., Purkis, S. J., Qurban, M., Jones, B. H., Duarte, C. M., & Benzoni, F. (2024). Consistent Symbiodiniaceae community assemblage in a mesophotic-specialist coral along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1264175
Lost in the dark: Antipatharia-Symbiodiniaceae association in the deep waters of the Red Sea
Vicario, S., Terraneo, T. I., Bocanegra Castano, C., Chimienti, G., Oury, N., Vimercati, S., Hume, B. C. C., Marchese, F., Nolan, M. K. B., Eweida, A. A., Purkis, S. J., Rodrigue, M., Pieribone, V., Qurban, M., Duarte, C. M., & Benzoni, F. (2024). Lost in the dark: Antipatharia-Symbiodiniaceae association in the deep waters of the Red Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1330118
Diversity and distribution of coral gall crabs associated with Red Sea mesophotic corals
Vimercati, S., Terraneo, T. I., Marchese, F., Eweida, A. A., Rodrigue, M., Pieribone, V., Qurban, M., Duarte, C. M., & Benzoni, F. (2024). Diversity and distribution of coral gall crabs associated with Red Sea mesophotic corals. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1305396
In-situ observations of an intact natural whale fall in Palmer deep, Western Antarctic Peninsula
Bolstad, K. S. R., Amsler, M. O., Broyer, C. D., M. Komoda, & Iwasaki, H. (2023). In-situ observations of an intact natural whale fall in Palmer deep, Western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology, 46(2), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03109-1
Bacterioplankton dark CO2 fixation in oligotrophic waters
Alothman, A., López-Sandoval, D., Duarte, C. M., & Agustí, S. (2023). Biogeosciences, 20(17), 3613–3624.
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.
New depth records and novel feeding observations of three elasmobranchs species in the Eastern Red Sea
Frappi, S., Williams, C., Pilcher, N., Rodrigue, M., Marshall, P., Pieribone, V., Qurban, M., & Duarte, C. M. (2023). New depth records and novel feeding observations of three elasmobranchs species in the Eastern Red Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1270257