Red Sea – Wikipedia

arm of the indian Ocean between Asia and Africa
This article is about the body of water between Asia and Africa. For early uses, see crimson Sea ( disambiguation )
This television over the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea and down the coastline of the Red Sea was taken by the gang of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station The Red Sea ( Arabic : البحر الأحمر, romanized : al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar ; Hebrew : יַם-סוּף, romanized : yam sūf or Hebrew : הַיָּם הָאָדְוֹם, romanized : hayyām hāʾāḏōm ; coptic : ⲫⲓⲟⲙ `ⲛϩⲁϩ Phiom Enhah or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ̀ⲛϣⲁⲣⲓ Phiom ̀nšari ; Tigrinya : ቀይሕ ባሕሪ Qeyih Bahri ; Somali : Badda Cas ) is a seawater intake of the indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its joining to the ocean is in the confederacy, through the Bab elevation Mandeb pass 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 underlie by the Red Sea Rift, which is partially of the Great Rift Valley.

The Red Sea has a surface sphere of roughly 438,000 km2 ( 169,100 mi2 ), [ 1 ] is about 2250 kilometer ( 1398 myocardial infarction ) long, and — at its widest point — 355 kilometer ( 220.6 mile ) wide. It has an average depth of 490 megabyte ( 1,608 foot ), and in the cardinal Suakin Trough it reaches its maximal depth of 3,040 thousand ( 9,970 foot ). [ 2 ] The Red Sea besides has extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals. The sea is the habitat of over 1,000 invertebrate species and 200 types of easy and difficult coral. It is the world ‘s northernmost tropical sea, and has been designated a Global 200 ecoregion .

extent [edit ]

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows : [ 3 ]

On the North. The Southern limits of the Gulfs of Suez [A line running from Ràs Muhammed (27°43’N) to the South point of Shadwan Island (34°02’E) and thence Westward on a parallel (27°27’N) to the coast of Africa] and Aqaba [A line running from Ràs al Fasma Southwesterly to Requin Island ( ) through Tiran Island to the Southwest point thereof and thence Westward on a parallel (27°54’N) to the coast of the Sinai Peninsula].

On the South. A line joining Husn Murad ( ) and Ras Siyyan ( ).

exclusive economic zone [edit ]

exclusive economic zones in Red Sea : [ 4 ]

Number	Country	Area (Km2)
1	Saudi Arabia	186,392
2	Sudan	92,513
3	Egypt	91,279
4	Eritrea	78,383
5	Yemen	35,861
6	Djibouti	7,037
Total	Red Sea	438,000

notice : Bir Tawil disputed between Sudan and Egypt and calculated for both .

Names [edit ]

Red Sea is a direct translation of the Greek Erythra Thalassa ( Ερυθρὰ Θάλασσα ). The sea itself was once referred to as the Erythraean Sea by Europeans. vitamin a well as Mare Rubrum in Latin ( alternatively Sinus Arabicus, literally “ arabian Gulf ” ), the Romans called it Pontus Herculis ( Sea of Hercules ). [ 5 ] other designations include the Arabic : البحر الأحمر, romanized : Al-Baḥr Al-Aḥmar ( alternatively بحر القلزم Baḥr Al-Qulzum, literally “ the Sea of Clysma “ ), the Coptic ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ̀ⲛϣⲁⲣⲓ Phiom ̀nšari, ܝܡܐ ܣܘܡܩܐ Yammāʾ summāqā, Somali Badda cas and Tigrinya Qeyyiḥ bāḥrī ( ቀይሕ ባሕሪ ). The name of the sea may signify the seasonal worker blooms of the red-coloured Trichodesmium erythraeum near the water ‘s surface. [ 6 ] A theory favored by some modern scholars is that the name red is referring to the commission south, equitable as the Black Sea ‘s name may refer to north. The basis of this theory is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to the cardinal number directions. [ 7 ] Herodotus on one juncture uses Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably. [ 8 ] The name in Hebrew Yam Suph ( Hebrew : ים סוף, illuminated. ‘Sea of Reeds ‘ ) is of biblical origin. The list in coptic : ⲫⲓⲟⲙ `ⲛϩⲁϩ Phiom Enhah ( “ Sea of Hah ” ) is connected to Ancient egyptian root ḥ-ḥ which refers to urine and sea ( for exercise the names of the Ogdoad gods Heh and Hauhet ). [ 9 ] historically, it was besides known to western geographers as Mare Mecca ( Sea of Mecca ), and Sinus Arabicus ( Gulf of Arabia ). [ 10 ] Some ancient geographers called the Red Sea the Arabian Gulf [ 11 ] or Gulf of Arabia. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] The association of the Red Sea with the biblical report of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is ancient, and was made denotative in the Septuagint translation of the Book of Exodus from Hebrew to Koine Greek in approximately the third century B.C. In that adaptation, the Yam Suph ( Hebrew : ים סוף, illuminated. ‘Sea of Reeds ‘ ) is translated as Erythra Thalassa ( Red Sea ). The Red Sea is one of four seas named in English after park color terms – the others being the Black Sea, the White Sea and the Yellow Sea. The direct rendition of the greek Erythra thalassa in Latin as Mare Erythraeum refers to the north-western part of the amerind Ocean, and besides to a region on Mars .

history [edit ]

Ancient earned run average [edit ]

The earliest know exploration of the Red Sea was conducted by ancient Egyptians, as they attempted to establish commercial routes to Punt. One such expedition took stead around 2500 BC, and another around 1500 BC ( by Hatshepsut ). Both involved long voyages down the Red Sea. [ 14 ] The biblical Book of Exodus tells the account of the Israelites ‘ crossbreed of a body of urine, which the Hebrew text calls Yam Suph ( Hebrew : יַם סוּף ). Yam Suph was traditionally identified as the Red Sea. Rabbi Saadia Gaon ( 882‒942 ), in his Judeo-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch, identifies the crossing rate of the Red Sea as Baḥar al-Qulzum, meaning the Gulf of Suez. [ 15 ]
In the sixth century BC, Darius the Great of Persia sent reconnaissance missions to the Red Sea, improving and extending seafaring by locating many hazardous rocks and currents. A canal was built between the Nile and the northern end of the Red Sea at Suez. In the late fourth hundred BC, Alexander the Great sent Greek naval expeditions down the Red Sea to the indian Ocean. greek navigators continued to explore and compile data on the Red Sea. Agatharchides collected data about the ocean in the second hundred BC. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ( “ Periplus of the Red Sea “ ), a greek periplus written by an unknown writer around the first century, contains a detail description of the Red Sea ‘s ports and ocean routes. [ 16 ] The Periplus besides describes how Hippalus first base discovered the direct route from the Red Sea to India. The Red Sea was favored for Roman trade with India starting with the reign of Augustus, when the Roman Empire gained manipulate over the Mediterranean, Egypt, and the northerly Red Sea. The route had been used by former states but grew in the volume of traffic under the Romans. From indian ports goods from China were introduced to the Roman global. contact between Rome and China depended on the Red Sea, but the route was broken by the Aksumite Empire around the third hundred AD. [ 17 ]

Middle Ages and modern era [edit ]

During the Middle Ages, the Red Sea was an important part of the spice trade route. In 1183, Raynald of Châtillon launched a raid down the Red Sea to attack the Muslim pilgrim convoys to Mecca. [ 18 ] The possibility that Raynald ‘s fleet might sack the holy place cities of Mecca and Medina caused craze throughout the Muslim universe. [ 19 ] however, it appears that Reynald ‘s target were the thinly armed Muslim pilgrim convoys preferably the well guarded cities of Mecca and Medina, and the belief in the Muslim earth that Reynald was seeking to sack the holy place cities was due to the proximity of those cities to the areas that Raynald raided. [ 20 ] In 1513, trying to secure that groove to Portugal, Afonso de Albuquerque laid siege to Aden [ 21 ] but was forced to retreat. They cruised the Red Sea inside the Bab al-Mandab, as the first gear fleet from Europe in advanced times to have sailed these waters. subsequently in 1524 the city was delivered to Governor Heitor da Silveira as an agreement for auspices from the Ottomans. [ 22 ] In 1798, France ordered General Napoleon to invade Egypt and take control of the Red Sea. Although he failed in his mission, the engineer Jean-Baptiste Lepère, who took part in it, revitalised the design for a canal which had been envisaged during the reign of the Pharaohs. several canals were built in ancient times from the Nile to the Red Sea along or near the line of the present Sweet Water Canal, but none lasted for long. The Suez Canal was opened in November 1869. After the moment World War, the Americans and Soviets exerted their charm whilst the bulk of oil oil tanker dealings intensified. however, the Six-Day War culminated in the blockage of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975. today, in malice of patrols by the major maritime fleets in the waters of the Red Sea, the Suez Canal has never recovered its domination over the Cape route, which is believed to be less vulnerable to plagiarism. [ citation needed ]

oceanography [edit ]

[23] Annotated opinion of the Nile and Red Sea, with a dust storm The Red Sea is between arid country, desert and semi-desert. Reef systems are better developed along the Red Sea chiefly because of its greater depths and an effective water circulation traffic pattern. The Red Sea water mass-exchanges its water with the Arabian Sea, indian Ocean via the Gulf of Aden. These physical factors reduce the impression of senior high school salt caused by dehydration in the north and relatively hot water in the south. [ 24 ] The climate of the Red Sea is the solution of two monsoon seasons ; a northeasterly monsoon and a southwest monsoon. Monsoon winds occur because of differential gear heat between the estate and the ocean. identical high surface temperatures and high salinities make this one of the warmest and salty bodies of seawater in the world. The average come on water temperature of the Red Sea during the summer is about 26 °C ( 79 °F ) in the north and 30 °C ( 86 °F ) in the confederacy, with alone about 2 °C ( 3.6 °F ) pas seul during the winter months. The overall average water temperature is 22 °C ( 72 °F ). temperature and visibility remain good to around 200 m ( 656 foot ). The sea is known for its strong winds and unpredictable local anesthetic currents. [ citation needed ] The rain over the Red Sea and its coasts is extremely gloomy, averaging 60 millimeter ( 2.36 in ) per year. The rain is by and large short showers, often with thunderstorms and occasionally with dust storms. The scarcity of rain and no major source of clean water to the Red Sea result in excess dehydration a gamey as 2,050 millimeter ( 81 in ) per class and high salt with minimal seasonal variation. A late subaqueous expedition to the Red Sea offshore from Sudan and Eritrea [ 25 ] found coat water temperatures 28 °C ( 82 °F ) in winter and up to 34 °C ( 93 °F ) in the summer, but despite that extreme estrus, the coral was healthy with a lot fish life with identical small augury of coral bleach, with alone 9 % infected by Thalassomonas loyana, the ‘white blight ‘ agent. Favia favus coral there harbours a virus, BA3, which kills T. loyana. [ 26 ] Plans are afoot to use samples of these corals ‘ obviously heat-adapted commensal alga to salvage bleach coral elsewhere. [ citation needed ]

brininess [edit ]

The Red Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, owing to eminent vaporization and low precipitation ; no significant rivers or streams drain into the sea, and its southern connection to the Gulf of Aden, an arm of the indian Ocean, is narrow-minded. [ 27 ] Its salt ranges from between ~36 ‰ in the southerly function and 41 ‰ in the northern contribution around the Gulf of Suez, with an average of 40 ‰. ( average brininess for the world ‘s seawater is ~35 ‰ on the Practical Salinity Scale, or PSU ; that translates to 3.5 % of actual dissolved salts. ) [ 28 ]

Tidal range [edit ]

In general, tide ranges between 0.6 m ( 2.0 foot ) in the north, near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez and 0.9 megabyte ( 3.0 foot ) in the south near the Gulf of Aden, but it fluctuates between 0.20 m ( 0.66 foot ) and 0.30 megabyte ( 0.98 foot ) away from the nodal luff. The cardinal Red Sea ( Jeddah area ) is therefore about tideless, and as such the annual urine level changes are more significant. Because of the belittled tidal compass the water during high tide inundates the coastal sabkhas as a thin sheet of water up to a few hundred metres rather than flooding the sabkhas through a network of channels. however, south of Jeddah in the Shoiaba area, the water from the lagoon may cover the touch sabkhas a far as 3 kilometer ( 2 nautical mile ), whereas north of Jeddah in the Al-Kharrar area the sabkhas are covered by a thin plane of water ampere army for the liberation of rwanda as 2 kilometer ( 1.2 security service ). The prevail north and northeast winds influence the movement of water system in the coastal inlets to the adjacent sabkhas, particularly during storms. Winter beggarly sea level is 0.5 molarity ( 1.6 foot ) higher than in summer. Tidal velocities passing through constrictions caused by reefs, sandpaper bars and gloomy islands normally exceed 1–2 m/s ( 3–6.5 ft/s ). coral reefs in the Red Sea are approximate Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. [ citation needed ]

current [edit ]

Detailed data regarding current data is lacking, partially because the currents are weak and both spatially and temporally variable star. The variation of temporal and spatial currents is a depleted as 0.5 thousand ( 1.6 foot ) [ clarification needed ] and are governed all by scent. During the summer, NW winds drive open water south for about four months at a speed of 15–20 cm/s ( 6–8 in/s ), whereas in winter the flow is reversed resulting in the inflow of body of water from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea. The net value of the latter predominates, resulting in an overall float to the north end of the Red Sea. Generally, the speed of the tidal current is between 50 and 60 cm/s ( 20–23.6 in/s ) with a maximum of 1 m/s ( 3.3 ft/s ) at the mouth of the al-Kharrar Lagoon. however, the range of the north-northeast current along the Saudi coast is 8–29 cm/s ( 3–11.4 in/s ). [ citation needed ]

Wind government [edit ]

The north separate of the Red Sea is dominated by persistent northwest winds, with speeds ranging between 7 km/h ( 4.3 miles per hour ) and 12 kilometers per hour ( 7.5 miles per hour ). The rest of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are subjected to regular and seasonally reversible winds. The scent regimen is characterized by seasonal worker and regional variations in rush and focus with average speed generally increasing northbound. [ 29 ] Wind is the driving force in the Red Sea to transport fabric as suspension or as bedload. Wind-induced currents play an important role in the Red Sea in resuspending bottom sediments and transferring materials from sites of dumping to sites of burying in quiescent environment of deposition. Wind-generated current measurement is therefore important in order to determine the sediment dispersion pattern and its function in the corrosion and accretion of the coastal rock exposure and the inundate coral beds. [ 30 ]

geology [edit ]

The Red Sea was formed by the arab peninsula being split from the Horn of Africa by movement of the Red Sea Rift. This separate started in the Eocene and accelerated during the Oligocene. The sea is still widening ( in 2005, following a three-week period of tectonic bodily process it had grown by 8m ), [ 31 ] and it is considered that it will become an ocean in time ( as proposed in the model of John Tuzo Wilson ). In 1949, a deep water survey reported anomalously blistering brines in the central dowry of the Red Sea. Later work in the 1960s confirmed the presence of hot, 60 °C ( 140 °F ), saline brines and associated metalliferous muds. The hot solutions were emanating from an active subseafloor rift. Lake Asal in Djibouti is eligible as an experimental locate to study the evolution of the deep hot brines of the Red Sea. [ 32 ] By observing the strontium isotope composing of the Red Sea brines, it is potential to deduce how these salt waters found at the bed of the Red Sea could have evolved in a like way to Lake Asal, which ideally represents their compositional extreme. [ 32 ] The gamey salt of the waters was not hospitable to living organisms. [ 33 ] sometime during the Tertiary period, the Bab elevation Mandeb closed and the Red Sea evaporated to an evacuate hot dry salt-floored slump. Effects causing this would have been :

• A “race” between the Red Sea widening and Perim Island erupting filling the Bab el Mandeb with lava.
• The lowering of world sea level during the Ice Ages because of much water being locked up in the ice caps.

A issue of volcanic islands rise from the center of the sea. Most are abeyant. however, in 2007, Jabal al-Tair island in the Bab elevation Mandeb pass erupted violently. Two new islands were formed in 2011 and 2013 in the Zubair Archipelago, a belittled chain of islands owned by Yemen. The first island, Sholan Island, emerged in an eruption in December 2011, the second base island, Jadid, emerged in September 2013. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] [ 36 ]

Oilfields [edit ]

The Durwara 2 Field was discovered in 1963, while the Suakin 1 Field and the Bashayer 1A Field were discovered in 1976, on the egyptian side of the Red Sea. The Barqan Field was discovered in 1969, and the Midyan Field in 1992, both within the Midyan Basin on the Saudi Arabian side of the Red Sea. The 20-m thick Middle Miocene Maqna Formation is an oil reference rock in the washbasin. Oil seeps happen near the Farasan Islands, the Dahlak Archipelago, along the slide of Eritrea, and in the southeastern Red Sea along the coasts of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. [ 37 ]

Mineral resources [edit ]

Egypt red Sea coast in Taba In terms of mineral resources the major constituents of the Red Sea sediments are as follows :

• Biogenic constituents:

Nanofossils, foraminifera, pteropods, siliceous fossils

• Volcanogenic constituents:

• Terrigenous constituents:

• Authigenic minerals:

• Evaporite minerals:

• Brine precipitate:

ecosystem [edit ]

sea slug egg ribbon at Shaab Mahmoud The Red Sea is a ample and divers ecosystem. More than 1200 species of fish [ 38 ] have been recorded in the Red Sea, and around 10 % of these are found nowhere else. [ 39 ] This besides includes 42 species of deepwater fish. [ 38 ]
red Sea coral and marine pisces The full-bodied diverseness is in part due to the 2,000 kilometer ( 1,240 nautical mile ) of coral reef extending along its coastline ; these fringing reefs are 5000–7000 years old and are largely formed of granitic acropora and porites corals. The reef human body platforms and sometimes lagoons along the seashore and periodic other features such as cylinders ( such as the Blue Hole ( Red Sea ) at Dahab ). These coastal reefs are besides visited by oceanic species of Red Sea pisces, including some of the 44 species of shark. It contains 175 species of sea slug, many of which are only found in the Red Sea. [ 40 ] The Red Sea besides contains many offshore reefs including several true atolls. Many of the unusual offshore reef formations defy authoritative ( i.e., Darwinian ) coral reef classification schemes, and are by and large attributed to the high levels of tectonic action that characterize the area. The limited biodiversity of the area is recognized by the egyptian government, who set up the Ras Mohammed National Park in 1983. The rules and regulations governing this area protect local anesthetic marine life, which has become a major draw for diving enthusiasts. Divers and snorkellers should be aware that although most crimson Sea species are innocuous, a few are hazardous to humans. [ 41 ] other marine habitats include sea grass beds, strategic arms limitation talks pans, mangroves and salt marshes .

desalination plants [edit ]

There is extensive demand for desalinate water to meet the needs of the population and the industries along the Red Sea. There are at least 18 desalination plants along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia which discharge quick brine and treatment chemicals ( chlorine and anti-scalants ) that bleach and kill corals and cause diseases in the pisces. This is only localized, but it may intensify with time and profoundly impact the fish industry. [ 42 ] The water from the Red Sea is besides used by oil refineries and cement factories for cool .

security [edit ]

The Red Sea is part of the sea roads between Europe, the Persian Gulf and East Asia, and as such has clayey transport traffic. Government-related bodies with province to police the Red Sea area include the Port Said Port Authority, Suez Canal Authority and Red Sea Ports Authority of Egypt, Jordan Maritime Authority, Israel Port Authority, Saudi Ports Authority and Sea Ports Corporation of Sudan .

Facts and figures [edit ]

• Length: ~2,250 km (1,398.1 mi) – 79% of the eastern Red Sea with numerous coastal inlets
• Maximum Width: ~ 306–355 km (190–220 mi)– Massawa (Eritrea)
• Minimum Width: ~ 26–29 km (16–18 mi)- Bab el Mandeb Strait (Yemen)
• Average Width: ~ 280 km (174.0 mi)
• Average Depth: ~ 490 m (1,607.6 ft)
• Maximum Depth: ~ 3,040 m (9,970 ft)
• Surface Area: 438-450 x 102 km2 (16,900–17,400 sq mi)
• Volume: 215–251 x 103 km3 (51,600–60,200 cu mi)

• Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow (under 100 m/330 ft), and about 25% is under 50 m (164 ft) deep.
• About 15% of the Red Sea is over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) depth that forms the deep axial trough.
• Shelf breaks are marked by coral reefs
• Continental slope has an irregular profile (series of steps down to ~500 m or 1,640 ft)
• Centre of Red Sea has a narrow trough (Suakin Trough) (~ 1,000 m or 3,281 ft; with maximum depth 3,040 m or 9,974 ft)

tourism [edit ]

The sea is known for its recreational dive sites, such as Ras Mohammed, SS Thistlegorm ( shipwreck ), Elphinstone Reef, The Brothers, Daedalus Reef, St.John ‘s Reef, Rocky Island in Egypt [ 43 ] and less known sites in Sudan such as Sanganeb, Abington, Angarosh and Shaab Rumi. The Red Sea became a popular address for diving after the expeditions of Hans Hass in the 1950s, and subsequently by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. [ 44 ] Popular tourist resorts include El Gouna, Hurghada, Safaga, Marsa Alam, on the west shore of the Red Sea, and Sharm-el-Sheikh, Dahab, and Taba on the Egyptian side of Sinaï, american samoa well as Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel in an area known as the Red Sea Riviera. The popular tourist beach of Sharm el-Sheikh was closed to all swim in December 2010 due to respective good shark attacks, including a fatality. As of December 2010, scientists are investigating the attacks and have identified, but not verified, respective potential causes including over-fishing which causes big sharks to hunt closer to shore, tourist boat operators who chum offshore for shark-photo opportunities, and reports of ships throwing dead livestock overboard. The sea ‘s narrow margin, meaning depth, and sharp drop-offs, all combine to form a geography where boastfully deep-water sharks can roam in hundreds of meters of water, so far be within a hundred meters of swimming areas. The Red Sea Project is building highest quality adjustment and a wide range of facilities on the coast agate line in Saudi Arabia. This will allow people to visit the coastline of the Red Sea by the end of 2022 but will be amply finished by 2030. [ 45 ]
tourism to the region has been threatened by episodic terrorist attacks, and by incidents related to food safety standards. [ 46 ] [ 47 ]

Bordering countries [edit ]

A four color map of the Red Sea and its frame countries The Red Sea may be geographically divided into three sections : the Red Sea proper, and in the north, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. The six countries bordering the Red Sea proper are :
The Gulf of Suez is wholly bordered by Egypt. The Gulf of Aqaba borders Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In addition to the standard geographic definition of the six countries bordering the Red Sea cited above, areas such as Somaliland are sometimes besides described as Red Sea territories. This is primarily ascribable to their proximity to and geological similarities with the nations facing the Red Sea and/or political ties with said areas. [ 48 ] [ 49 ]

Towns and cities [edit ]

Towns and cities on the Red Sea seashore ( including the coasts of the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez ) include :

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]

further understand [edit ]

• Hamblin, W. Kenneth & Christiansen, Eric H. (1998). Earth’s Dynamic Systems (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-745373-6.
• Miran, Jonathan. (2018). “The Red Sea,” in David Armitage, Alison Bashford and Sujit Sivasundaram (eds.), Oceanic Histories (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 156–181.

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Category : Maritime