JEDDAH — A three-day workshop entitled “Red Sea: Its Origin, Structure and Environment” and organized by the Saudi Geological Survey kicked off on Saturday to work on the first book addressing the Red Sea marine environment. The workshop welcomed 56 scientists and marine biologists from various countries, including Canada, the US, Australia, Egypt, the UK, Italy, Sudan, France, Norway, Eritrea and Germany. The scientists will be discussing 38 research papers addressing the Red Sea. According to Najeeb Rasul, a technical adviser in marine geology at the Saudi Geology Survey, the book will have 36 chapters each consisting of 20 pages and will be published by 2014. The second volume of the book will be issued six months later. Rasul told Saudi Gazette that the book will address all that is related to the Red Sea including the geology, geophysics, corals, fish population and earthquakes among other marine life data. All information and researches included in the book will be new. The book will be followed by a monograph that focuses on corals and lagoons. The workshop will help scientists select the data that will be included in each chapter, improve the quality of the research and consider any additional information needed. Mostafa Moamar, a Saudi professor who has 40 years of experience in marine sciences, said this project will be of great help to them. “We have been doing field inspections in the Red Sea since the 1970s but were in need for a specialized authority that can help update researches and data and publish them for scientists and the general public.” The Red Sea is a special marine haven as it has the environment that has the characteristics of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, making it suitable for sea life from both oceans. It has also been expanding in the last decades by 1 to 2 centimeters per year resulting in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula shifting away from each other. However, this has resulted in changing the features of the Red Sea and revealing valuable minerals, including copper, gold, silver, zinc and uranium. Zuhair Nawab, the president of the Saudi Geological Survey, said that they had established a center of marine geology in 2009 and are hoping to turn it into a center of excellence. So far the center owns two research boats equipped with modern oceanographic equipment capable of working in shallow waters. Researches are carried out routinely in the Red Sea and will be started soon in the Arabian Gulf. Nawab added that they have a five-year plan to publish a monograph on various disciplines in marine sciences.
