RS21A:
The Red Sea: A Laboratory for Ocean Processes in a Changing World I


Session ID#: 36736

Session Description:
The Red Sea, a semi-enclosed basin, is among the saltiest and warmest seas on the planet. Its latitudinal range spans 20 degrees and depths are in excess of 2800 meters. Due to the shallow sill at its opening to the Indian Ocean, the deep waters are unusually warm (~21°C at 2.8 km depth) and vertical stratification in the water column is remarkably weak. Significant latitudinal gradients of temperature, salinity, and nutrients and coastal-open sea gradients from coastal mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs to open sea, oligotrophic environments exist within the basin. These unique characteristics and its size make it an opportune laboratory for studying a range of processes extending from coastal habitats, ocean biology and biogeochemistry, physical dynamics across a spectrum of scales, and climate impacts.

 

A recent surge in Red Sea research has greatly expanded our knowledge and understanding of this environment.  This session invites researchers across a range of disciplines to discuss our expanding understanding of Red Sea processes and their significance to understanding globally important processes including air-sea interaction, mesoscale, submesoscale and small scale processes, coastal-open sea exchanges, biological/physical coupling, biogeochemical processes, coastal habitat response to extreme conditions, and the global context and implications of these processes.

Primary Chair:  Burton H Jones, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Co-chairs:  Stephen G Monismith, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, Amatzia Genin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Inter-university Institute for Marine Sciences, Eilat, Israel and Riyad S Manasrah, University of Jordan, Marine Sciences, Aqaba, Jordan
Moderators:  Riyad S Manasrah, University of Jordan, Marine Sciences, Aqaba, Jordan and Stephen G Monismith, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
Student Paper Review Liaison:  Stephen G Monismith, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
Index Terms:

1616 Climate variability [GLOBAL CHANGE]
4223 Descriptive and regional oceanography [OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL]
4273 Physical and biogeochemical interactions [OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL]
4815 Ecosystems, structure, dynamics, and modeling [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL]
Cross-Topics:
  • B - Biodiversity
  • BN - Biogeochemistry and Nutrients
  • CD - Coastal Dynamics
  • PS - Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Smaller

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

No submissions have been made yet.

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