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Blue Holes (Saudi Arabia)
The Blue holes of Saudi Arabia are a series of twenty marine caverns along the coast of the Red Sea, between the Afifi region in the south and the Gulf of Aqaba in the north of the sea. Saudi Arabia announced the discovery of the blue holes in 2022. Discovery Saudi Arabia announced the "Journey of the Decade" in 2022, led by Dr. Carlos Durati, to explore the Red Sea and conduct a comprehensive water survey over nearly 4 months. The blue holes were discovered during the ensuing survey. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology will conduct studies and research dealing with biodiversity and threats to the important blue holes. Blue hole protection Protecting and studying these blue holes is in line with the goals of Saudi Arabia's green initiatives, represented by the initiative to raise the percentage of protected areas to reach 30% of the Kingdom's area by 2030, in addition to rehabilitating those affected by them. Saudi Arabia also announced that blue holes represe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Hole
A blue hole is a large marine cavern or sinkhole, which is open to the surface and has developed in a bank or island composed of a carbonate bedrock (limestone or coral reef). Blue holes typically contain tidally influenced water of fresh, marine, or mixed chemistry. They extend below sea level for most of their depth and may provide access to submerged cave passages. Well-known examples are the Blue Hole of Dahab in the Red Sea, Dragon Hole in the South China Sea and, in the Caribbean, the Great Blue Hole and Dean's Blue Hole. ''Blue holes'' are distinguished from ''cenotes'' in that the latter are inland voids usually containing fresh groundwater rather than seawater. Description Blue holes are roughly circular, steep-walled depressions, and so named for the dramatic contrast between the dark blue, deep waters of their depths and the lighter blue of the shallows around them. Their water circulation is poor, and they are commonly anoxic below a certain depth; this enviro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez—leading to the Suez Canal. It is underlain by the Red Sea Rift, which is part of the Great Rift Valley. The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly , is about long, and wide at its widest point. It has an average depth of , and in the central Suakin Trough, it reaches its maximum depth of . Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow at less than deep and about 25% is less than deep. The extensive shallow shelves are noted for their marine life and corals. More than 1,000 invertebrate species and 200 types of soft and hard coral live in the sea. The Red Sea is the world's northernmost tropical sea and has been designated a Global 200 ecoregion. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf Of Aqaba
The Gulf of Aqaba () or Gulf of Eilat () is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Geography The gulf is east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. With the Gulf of Suez to the west, it extends from the northern portion of the Red Sea. It reaches a maximum depth of in its central area: the Gulf of Suez is significantly wider but less than deep. The gulf measures at its widest point and stretches some north from the Straits of Tiran to where Israel meets Egypt and Jordan. Like the coastal waters of the Red Sea, the gulf is one of the world's premier sites for diving. The area is especially rich in coral and other marine biodiversity and has both accidental shipwrecks and vessels deliberately sunk in an effort to provide a habitat for marine organisms and bolster the local dive tourism industr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East, and the List of countries and dependencies by area, 12th-largest in the world. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the south. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of Geography of Saudi Arabia, its terrain consists of Arabian Desert, arid desert, lowland, steppe, and List of mountains in Saudi Arabia, mountains. The capital and List of cities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; ') is a Private university, private research university located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 2009, the university provides research and graduate training programs in English language, English as the official English-medium education, language of instruction. It is named after Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah bin Abdulalziz, the ruler of Saudi Arabia from 2005 until 2015. KAUST is the first mixed-gender university campus in Saudi Arabia. In 2013, the university was among the 500 fastest growing research and citation records in the world. In the 2016 Nature Index Rising Stars, the university ranked 19th in the world of the fastest rising universities for high quality research output. In 2019 KAUST is ranked 8th fastest rising young universities (aged 50 and under) for their research output since 2015, as measured by fractional count (FC). KAUST is the highest ranking university in the Times Higher Educa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saudi Vision 2030
Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown prince and prime minister Mohammed bin Salman. It was first announced on 25 April 2016 by the Saudi government. The Council of Ministers has tasked the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) with identifying and monitoring the mechanisms and measures crucial for the implementation of "Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030". Despite efforts to reduce Saudi dependence on oil, , Saudi Arabia remains heavily dependent on oil revenue, as measured by its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), fiscal revenue, and exports. Oil accounted for approximately 40% of Saudi GDP and 75% of its fiscal revenue. Additionally, the program is facing strong criticism from human rights advocates, with allegedly over 21,000 workers having died on the job ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Geology
Marine geology or geological oceanography is the study of the history and structure of the ocean floor. It involves geophysical, Geochemistry, geochemical, Sedimentology, sedimentological and paleontological investigations of the ocean floor and coastal zone. Marine geology has strong ties to geophysics and to physical oceanography. Marine geological studies were of extreme importance in providing the critical evidence for sea floor spreading and plate tectonics in the years following World War II. The deep ocean floor is the last essentially unexplored frontier and detailed mapping in support of economic (petroleum and metal mining), natural disaster mitigation, and academic objectives. History The study of marine geology dates back to the late 1800s during the 4-year HMS Challenger expedition, ''Challenger'' expedition. HMS ''Challenger'' hosted nearly 250 people, including sailors, engineers, carpenters, marines, officers, and a 6-person team of scientists, led by Charles Wy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries; ecosystem dynamics; and plate tectonics and seabed geology. Oceanographers draw upon a wide range of disciplines to deepen their understanding of the world’s oceans, incorporating insights from astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and physics. History Early history Humans first acquired knowledge of the waves and currents of the seas and oceans in pre-historic times. Observations on tides were recorded by Aristotle and Strabo in 384–322 BC. Early exploration of the oceans was primarily for cartography and mainly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physical Oceanography
Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters. Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is divided. Others include biological, chemical and geological oceanography. Physical oceanography may be subdivided into ''descriptive'' and ''dynamical'' physical oceanography. Descriptive physical oceanography seeks to research the ocean through observations and complex numerical models, which describe the fluid motions as precisely as possible. Dynamical physical oceanography focuses primarily upon the processes that govern the motion of fluids with emphasis upon theoretical research and numerical models. These are part of the large field of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (GFD) that is shared together with meteorology. GFD is a sub field of Fluid dynamics describing flows occurring on spatial and temporal scales that are greatly influenced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cave Geology
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock shelters). Caves which extend further underground than the opening is wide are called endogene caves. Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the cave environment. Visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called ''caving'', ''potholing'', or ''spelunking''. Formation types The formation and development of caves is known as '' speleogenesis''; it can occur over the course of millions of years. Caves can range widely in size, and are formed by various geological processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion by water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, and atmospheric influences. Isotopic dating techniques can be applied to cave sediments, to determine the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Caves
A sea cave, is also known as a littoral cave, a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relict (geology), relict sea caves on former coastlines. Some of the largest wave-cut caves in the world are found on the coast of Norway, but are now 100 feet or more above present sea level. These would still be classified as littoral caves. By contrast, in places like Thailand's Phang Nga Bay, solutionally formed caves in limestone have been flooded by the rising sea and are now subject to littoral erosion, representing a new phase of their enlargement. Some of the best-known sea caves are European. Fingal's Cave, on the island of Staffa in Scotland, is a spacious cave some 70 m long, formed in columnar jointing, columnar basalt. The Blue Grotto (Capri), Blue Grotto of Capri, although smaller, is famous for the apparent luminescent quality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Underwater Diving Sites In Saudi Arabia
An underwater environment is a environment of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a Water, body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteristics of the underwater environment are universal, but many depend on the local situation. Liquid water has been present on Earth for most of the History of Earth, history of the planet. The underwater environment is thought to be the place of the origin of life on Earth, and it remains the ecological region most critical to the support of life and the natural habitat of the majority of living organisms. Several branches of science are dedicated to the study of this environment or specific parts or aspects of it. A number of human activities are conducted in the more accessible parts of the underwater environment. These include research, underwater diving for work or recreation, and underwater warfare with submarines. It is hostile to humans in many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
