Red Sea

Red Sea
an arm of the Indian Ocean, extending NW between Africa and Arabia: connected to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal. 1450 mi. (2335 km) long; 170,000 sq. mi. (440,300 sq. km); greatest depth, 7254 ft. (2211 m).

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Narrow inland sea between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.

It extends southeast from Suez, Egypt, for about 1,200 mi (1,930 km) to the Strait of Mandeb, which connects with the Gulf of Aden and then with the Arabian Sea. It separates the coasts of Egypt, The Sudan, and Eritrea from those of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It contains some of the world's warmest and saltiest seawater. With its connection to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, it is one of the most heavily traveled waterways in the world, carrying traffic between Europe and Asia. Its name is derived from the colour changes observed in its waters.

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Introduction
Arabic  al-Baḥr al-Aḥmar,  
 narrow strip of water extending southeastward from Suez, Egypt, for about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometres) to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects with the Gulf of Aden and thence with the Arabian Sea. Geologically, the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba (Elat) must be considered as the northern extension of the same structure. The sea separates the coasts of Egypt, The Sudan, and Eritrea to the west from those of Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the east. Its maximum width is 190 miles, its greatest depth 9,974 feet (3,040 metres), and its area approximately 174,000 square miles (450,000 square kilometres).

      The Red Sea contains some of the world's hottest and saltiest seawater. With its connection to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, it is one of the most heavily traveled waterways in the world, carrying maritime traffic between Europe and Asia. Its name is derived from the colour changes observed in its waters. Normally the Red Sea is an intense blue-green; occasionally, however, it is populated by extensive blooms of the algae Trichodesmium erythraeum, which, upon dying off, turn the sea a reddish brown colour.

      The following discussion focuses on the Red Sea and the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba. For treatment of the Suez Canal, see Suez Canal.

Physical features

Physiography and submarine morphology
      The Red Sea lies in a fault depression that separates two great blocks of the Earth's crust—Arabia and North Africa. The land on either side, inland from the coastal plains, reaches heights of more than 6,560 feet above sea level, with the highest land in the south.

      At its northern end the Red Sea splits into two parts, the Gulf of Suez (Suez, Gulf of) to the northwest and the Gulf of Aqaba (Aqaba, Gulf of) to the northeast. The Gulf of Suez is shallow—approximately 180 to 210 feet deep—and it is bordered by a broad coastal plain. The Gulf of Aqaba, on the other hand, is bordered by a narrow plain, and it reaches a depth of 5,500 feet. From approximately 28° N, where the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba converge, south to a latitude near 25° N, the Red Sea's coasts parallel each other at a distance of roughly 100 miles apart. There the seafloor consists of a main trough, with a maximum depth of some 4,000 feet, running parallel to the shorelines.

      South of this point and continuing southeast to latitude 16° N, the main trough becomes sinuous, following the irregularities of the shoreline. About halfway down this section, roughly between 20° and 21° N, the topography of the trough becomes more rugged, and several sharp clefts appear in the seafloor. Because of an extensive growth of coral banks, only a shallow narrow channel remains south of 16° N. The sill (submarine ridge) separating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is affected by this growth; therefore, the depth of the water is only about 380 feet, and the main channel becomes narrow.

      The clefts within the deeper part of the trough are unusual seafloor areas in which hot brine concentrates are found. These patches apparently form distinct and separated deeps within the trough and have a north-south trend, whereas the general trend of the trough is from northwest to southeast. At the bottom of these areas are unique sediments, containing deposits of heavy metal oxides from 30 to 60 feet thick.

      Most of the islands of the Red Sea are merely exposed reefs. There is, however, a group of active volcanoes just south of the Dahlak Archipelago (15° 50′ N), as well as a recently extinct volcano on the island of Jabal aṭ-Ṭāʾir.

Geology
      The Red Sea occupies part of a large rift valley in the continental crust of Africa and Arabia. This break in the crust is part of a complex rift system that includes the East African Rift System, which extends southward through Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania for almost 2,200 miles and northward for more than 280 miles from the Gulf of Aqaba to form the great Wadi Aqaba–Dead Sea–Jordan Rift; the system also extends eastward for 600 miles from the southern end of the Red Sea to form the Gulf of Aden.

      The Red Sea valley cuts through the Arabian-Nubian Massif, which was a continuous central mass of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks (i.e., formed deep within the Earth under heat and pressure more than 540 million years ago), the outcrops of which form the rugged mountains of the adjoining region. The massif is surrounded by these Precambrian rocks overlain by Paleozoic marine sediments (540 to 245 million years old). These sediments were affected by the folding and faulting that began late in the Paleozoic; the laying down of deposits, however, continued to occur during this time and apparently continued into the Mesozoic Era (245 to 66.4 million years ago). The Mesozoic sediments appear to surround and overlap those of the Paleozoic and are in turn surrounded by early Cenozoic sediments (i.e., between 66.4 and 57.8 million years old). In many places large remnants of Mesozoic sediments are found overlying the Precambrian rocks, suggesting that a fairly continuous cover of deposits once existed above the older massif.

      The Red Sea is considered a relatively new sea, whose development probably resembles that of the Atlantic Ocean in its early stages. The Red Sea's trough apparently formed in at least two complex phases of land motion. The movement of Africa away from Arabia began about 55 million years ago. The Gulf of Suez opened up about 30 million years ago, and the northern part of the Red Sea about 20 million years ago. The second phase began about 3 to 4 million years ago, creating the trough in the Gulf of Aqaba and also in the southern half of the Red Sea valley. This motion, estimated as amounting to 0.59 to 0.62 inch (15.0 to 15.7 millimetres) per year, is still proceeding, as indicated by the extensive volcanism of the past 10,000 years, by seismic activity, and by the flow of hot brines in the trough.

Climate
      The Red Sea region receives very little precipitation in any form, although prehistoric artifacts indicate that there were periods with greater amounts of rainfall. In general, the climate is conducive to outdoor activity in fall, winter, and spring—except during windstorms—with temperatures varying between 46° and 82° F (8° and 28° C). Summer temperatures, however, are much higher, up to 104° F (40° C), and relative humidity is high, rendering vigorous activity unpleasant. In the northern part of the Red Sea area, extending down to 19° N, the prevailing winds are north to northwest. Best known are the occasional westerly, or “Egyptian,” winds, which blow with some violence during the winter months and generally are accompanied by fog and blowing sand. From latitude 14° to 16° N the winds are variable, but from June through August strong northwest winds move down from the north, sometimes extending as far south as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait; by September, however, this wind pattern retreats to a position north of 16° N. South of 14° N the prevailing winds are south to southeast.

Hydrology
      No water enters the Red Sea from rivers, and rainfall is scant; but the evaporation loss—in excess of 80 inches per year—is made up by an inflow through the eastern channel of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the Gulf of Aden. This inflow is driven toward the north by prevailing winds and generates a circulation pattern in which these low-salinity waters (the average salinity is about 36 parts per thousand) move northward. Water from the Gulf of Suez has a salinity of about 40 parts per thousand, owing in part to evaporation, and consequently a high density. This dense water moves toward the south and sinks below the less dense inflowing waters from the Red Sea. Below a transition zone, which extends from depths of about 300 to 1,300 feet, the water conditions are stabilized at about 72° F (22° C), with a salinity of almost 41 parts per thousand. This south-flowing bottom water, displaced from the north, spills over the sill at Bab el-Mandeb, mostly through the eastern channel. It is estimated that there is a complete renewal of water in the Red Sea every 20 years.

      Below this southward-flowing water, in the deepest portions of the trough, there is another transition layer, only 80 feet thick, below which, at some 6,400 feet, lie pools of hot brine. The brine in the Atlantis II Deep has an average temperature of almost 140° F (60° C), a salinity of 257 parts per thousand, and no oxygen. There are similar pools of water in the Discovery Deep and in the Chain Deep (at about 21°18′ N). Heating from below renders these pools unstable, so that their contents mix with the overlying waters; they thus become part of the general circulation system of the sea.

Economic aspects

Resources
      Five major types of mineral resources are found in the Red Sea region: petroleum deposits, evaporite deposits (sediments laid down as a result of evaporation, such as halite, sylvite, gypsum, and dolomite), sulfur, phosphates, and the heavy-metal deposits in the bottom oozes of the Atlantis II, Discovery, and other deeps. The oil and natural gas deposits have been exploited to varying degrees by the nations adjoining the sea; of note are the deposits near Jamsah (Gemsa) Promontory (Egypt) at the juncture of the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Despite their ready availability, the evaporites have been exploited only slightly, primarily on a local basis. Sulfur has been mined extensively since the early 20th century, particularly from deposits at Jamsah Promontory. Phosphate deposits are present on both sides of the sea, but the grade of the ore has been too low to warrant exploitation with existing techniques.

      None of the heavy metal deposits have been exploited, although the sediments of the Atlantis II Deep alone have been estimated to be of considerable economic value. The average analysis of the Atlantis II Deep deposit has revealed an iron content of 29 percent; zinc 3.4 percent; copper 1.3 percent; and trace quantities of lead, silver, and gold. The total brine-free sediment estimated to be present in the upper 30 feet of the Atlantis II Deep is about 50 million tons. These deposits appear to extend to a depth of 60 feet below the present sediment surface, but the quality of the deposits below 30 feet is unknown. The sediments of the Discovery Deep and of several other deposits also have significant metalliferous content but at lower concentrations than that in the Atlantis II Deep, and thus they have not been of as much economic interest. The recovery of sediment located beneath 5,700 to 6,400 feet of water poses problems. But since most of these metalliferous deposits are fluid oozes, it is thought to be possible to pump them to the surface in much the same way as oil. There also are numerous proposals for drying and beneficiating (treating for smelting) these deposits after recovery.

Navigation
      Navigation in the Red Sea is difficult. The unindented shorelines of the sea's northern half provide few natural harbours, and in the southern half the growth of coral reefs has restricted the navigable channel and blocked some harbour facilities. At Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the channel is kept open to shipping by blasting and dredging. Atmospheric distortion (heat shimmer), sandstorms, and highly irregular water currents add to the navigational hazards.

Study and exploration
      The Red Sea is one of the first large bodies of water mentioned in recorded history. It was important in early Egyptian maritime commerce (2000 BC) and was used as a water route to India by about 1000 BC. It is believed that it was reasonably well-charted by 1500 BC, because at that time Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt sailed its length. Later the Phoenicians explored its shores during their circumnavigatory exploration of Africa in about 600 BC. Shallow canals were dug between the Nile and the Red Sea before the 1st century AD but were later abandoned. A deep canal between the Mediterranean and Red seas was first suggested about AD 800 by the caliph Hārūn ar-Rashīd; but it was not until 1869 that the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps oversaw the completion of the Suez Canal connecting the two seas.

      The Red Sea has been subject to substantial scientific research in the 20th century, particularly since World War II. Notable cruises have included those of the Swedish research vessel Albatross (1948) and the American Glomar Challenger (1972). In addition to studying the sea's chemical and biological properties, researchers have focused considerable attention on understanding its geologic structure. Much of the geologic study has been in conjunction with oil exploration.

B. Charlotte Schreiber William B.F. Ryan

Additional Reading
T.D. Allan and C. Morelli, “The Red Sea,” in The Sea, vol. 4, pt. 2, ed. by A.E. Maxwell (1971), pp. 493–542, is an excellent review of all aspects of topography, geology, and oceanography of the Red Sea. Egon T. Degens and David A. Ross (eds.), Hot Brines and Recent Heavy Metal Deposits in the Red Sea (1969), is an excellent series of papers in which every aspect of the geology, stratigraphy, paleontology, water circulation, and mineral deposits are reviewed in detail. Alasdair J. Edwards and Stephen M. Head (eds.), Red Sea (1987), includes discussion of the same topics as well as studies of plant and animal life, human settlement, fisheries, pollution, and conservation and management. United States Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic Center, Sailing Directions (Enroute) for the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf (1978), provides navigational as well as oceanographic information. Useful journal articles include J. Angelier, “Extension and Rifting: The Zeit Region, Gulf of Suez,” Journal of Structural Geology, 7(5):605–612 (1985), a well-developed analysis of the junction between the Suez and main Red Sea rift areas; Enrico Bonatti, “Punctiform Initiation of Seafloor Spreading in the Red Sea During Transition from a Continental to an Oceanic Rift,” Nature, 316(6023):33–37 (July 4, 1985), on the behaviour of seafloor spreading in a newly formed oceanic rift, and “The Rifting of Continents,” Scientific American, 256(3):97–103 (March 1987); Enrico Bonatti (ed.), “Zabargad Island and the Red Sea Rift,” a special issue of Tectonophysics, vol. 150, no. 1–2 (1988), a spectacular collection of 11 definitive papers on the evolution of the Red Sea; H.J. Bayer et al., “Sedimentary and Structural Evolution of the Northwest Arabian Red Sea Margin,” Tectonophysics, 153(1–4):137–151 (1988), a review of the relationship between rift tectonics and sedimentation in the Red Sea area; and Bruce H. Purser and Heinz Hoetzl, “The Sedimentary Evolution of the Red Sea Rift: A Comparison of the Northwest (Egyptian) and Northeast (Saudi Arabian) Margins,” Tectonophysics, 153(1–4):193–208 (1988), a review of the relationship between active rift tectonics and sedimentation in the Red Sea area.B. Charlotte Schreiber

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Universalium. 2010.

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