May 2011

at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

BEACON the

May 2011 / Jumada-I 1432 Issue No. 9

www.kaust.edu.sa

This long, narrow body of water that separates Arabia from Africa remains mysterious to scientists.

Relatively few oceanographic studies have been conducted in the region, and the sea's waters remain largely unexplored. Compounding this dearth of knowledge is the unique- * Mare Erythraeum, Latin for “Red Sea” ness and complexity of this body of water. In regards to its physical attributes, the Red Sea is unusual and exactly how it mixes, circulates, and varies seasonally is poorly understood.

Many different phenomena have shaped its current landscape, as demonstrated by its geological history. Before 31 million years ago, Arabia and Africa were still attached, and Arabia was being subducted under Eurasia in a northwest/southeast oblique direction. Movement accompanied by deep-seated fracturing and intermittent volcanism triggered continental rifting which split Arabia from Africa. The region includes oceanic rifting in the Gulf of Aden, a riftto-drift transition zone, and a "failed continental rift" in the Gulf of Suez.

The Red Sea’s tectonic evolution thus far has formed the shape of the sea—long, thin, and partly walled off from the Indian Ocean. Evaporation rates are high, and because fresher water flows in from the south, the northern reaches of the Red Sea are very salty. Scientific observations indicate that most circulation occurs in the upper few hundred meters and requires almost 10 years to flow from south to north, sink, and return again. Some water circulates more slowly and deeply, on the order of 70 years.

The Red Sea shelters what may be the world's longest coral reef, a hotspot of biological diversity and an important economic resource, as a nursery of young fish.

The coral reefs are its most productive and diverse ecosystem. The sea features more than 250 reef-building corals, more than in any part of the Indian Ocean. Reefs are particularly abundant in the northern portion of the sea, but do not extend into the Gulf of Suez.

The sea is almost completely isolated from other bodies of water, connected only to the Indian Ocean to the south via a narrow channel. Because of its location and relative isolation, it is particularly warm and salty. High-temperature, mineral-rich deep brine pools, discovered in 1949, dot the length of its oceanic basin, at depths of 2,500 meters below the surface. These deep hot brine pools may have their origins in geothermal activity developing along the sea's axial rift.

Brine pools, considered by many to be one of Earth's last unexplored frontiers, are five times saltier than surrounding waters and are isolated from surrounding water because the density of the saline water prevents it from rising and mixing, despite high temperatures. Though these brine pools were originally thought to be sterile, they are now understood to include unusual communities of extremophile microorganisms.

From climate to ocean physics to biology, studying the Red Sea will yield important findings relevant to resource management, ecosystem health, and biodiversity.

Limited Edition Poster Inside!

THE RED SEA

PHOTO BY: Michael Berumen

A sea of mystery

PHOTO BY: Christian Voolstra

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

An Amazing Resource at our Doorstep

Dr. James Luyten

The Red Sea, nearly 2,000 km long, encompasses a rich and extremely diverse ecosystem. With its huge system of coral reefs that run along both of its long shorelines, it is, as Professor James Luyten explained during the Opening Celebration of the Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) on April 9, 2011, “a precious resource that offers many opportunities.” Prof. Luyten, Founding Director of the RSRC, hastened to add that “with those opportunities comes much responsibility to protect and safeguard the reefs, because coral reefs are endangered worldwide and are subject to increased pollution, overfishing, destruction through coastal development, careless exploitation, and increasing ocean temperatures and acidity levels.”

The best way to protect the reefs and to conserve the health of the Red Sea is to have sound scientific understanding of its resources. Until now, no comprehensive assessment of these resources has been attempted, despite the fact that nine countries in the Middle East and Africa have Red Sea shoreline.

Although observations of the winds, currents, and physical properties in the Red Sea have been made for hundreds of years, most likely since people in the region began to set sail on the sea, most of these observations are of limited use to modern oceanographers and marine scientists, because of their limited accuracy and resolution in space and time, explained Prof.

Luyten. Indeed, there has never been a

concerted scientific effort to observe the physical, chemical, and biological environment of the Red Sea at sufficient detail and resolution to provide the foundation for a predictive ocean model of the sea.

The goal of the RSRC at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is to conduct fundamental research on the Red Sea and to develop such a model to begin an assessment of its living resources using state-of-the-art scientific research methods.

Even before KAUST opened in 2009, scientists affiliated with the RSRC began a comprehensive program of observations to understand the physical, chemical, and biological structure of the Red Sea. These ongoing observations will allow the scientists in the Center to develop a comprehensive ocean model to forecast ocean currents, temperature, salinity, and sea level using the most modern and sophisticated instrumentation and analytical methods available.

As more comprehensive observations of the biological variability become available, ecological modeling will be included as well.

The facilities and equipment at the University, noted Prof. Luyten, are “extraordinary.” The Core Labs provide genomics, analytical, and imaging equipment along with high-performance computing, visualization, and modeling capabilities; coupled with the sea vessels, diving equipment, and support, the marine scientists have all they need at their fingertips. “There are very few places in the world, perhaps none other

than here at KAUST, where a scientist can take his or her students and research team out to the reef in the morning, do two dives to collect samples, return to the lab with the samples and then work on those samples in the lab in the afternoon,” Prof.

Luyten remarked.

The close proximity of the reefs to all the equipment a marine scientist could need has attracted faculty members, students, and many collaborators to KAUST. “Because the Red Sea is largely unexplored and our understanding of it remains incomplete, we have a wonderful opportunity here to do breakthrough science,” Prof.

Luyten commented.

Professor Terry Hughes, from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University and keynote speaker at the recent Red Sea Research Center Symposium, echoed Prof. Luyten’s point: “There is massive potential for marine science research in the Red Sea as it is understudied compared to other oceans around the world.” As he explained, “fundamental marine research has to be done as a basis for future investigation. Developing it will be a never-ending task, but establishing it will be a great step forward.”

The Symposium this year marked the official opening of the RSRC and brought together researchers from around the world who are working to understand the ecosystem of the Red Sea. They reported on their results from recent expeditions and field and modeling work in the Red Sea and on the potential applications of these results to similar systems around the world.

Not a one-off event, the Symposium will be held periodically to continue the dialogue between RSRC scientists and their colleagues and collaborators from around the world about what they are finding below the surface of the sea.

Continued on p.2

Red Sea

May 2011

: Michael B PHOTO BY

erumen

We have the great pleasure this month of bringing you the first of what will be a series of four annual special thematic editions of the Beacon. This first is devoted to the Red Sea Research Center and Marine Science at the University. KAUST is unique in the world for its extraordinary access to the Red Sea, a largely unexplored resource. We are blessed to have such a high-powered array of people, laboratories, and equipment located just minutes from the environment

The Beacon

being studied. In the morning a graduate student can be underwater collecting samples or data and in her lab that afternoon analyzing the results. This special issue captures some, not all, of the exciting work being done at KAUST and the globally diverse community of researchers doing it. We hope you are encouraged to come join us, from across the campus or around the globe — put on a snorkel, a mask and some flippers and discover. The second academic year at KAUST draws to a close and the Beacon will suspend publication this summer to prepare for September.

Thank you for reading.

—THE BEACON Editorial

Write to us at thebeacon@kaust.edu.sa The Beacon, Issue 9, May 2011. Published by The Communications Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.

Contact Salah Sindi +966 (2) 808-3221, email salah.sindi@kaust.edu.sa, or Michelle D'Antoni +966 (2) 808-3178, email michelle.dantoni@kaust.edu.sa © King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Printed on partially recycled paper.

Map is illustrative and does not reflect exact locations.

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And getting below the surface is essential. “While satellites can provide an important global perspective and increasing spatial resolution, they only observe the skin of the ocean, not its interior,” explained Prof. Luyten. “Observations of temperature, color, height, and a host of other parameters also tell us only about the surface skin. Only direct observations of the interior of the ocean will provide the necessary information about the internal structure — the currents, the distribution of temperature, salinity, nutrients, dissolved gases, as well as the marine organisms from bacteria to fish.”

The principal tools for these observations will be a comprehensive network of long-term moorings, sensors deployed on and along the reefs as well as moored on the bottom, instruments drifting with the water movements, and shipboard observations, all aiming at revealing the physics, chemistry, and biology of the Red Sea. In the first stage of the work, the marine scientists are now establishing a coral reef monitoring project and beginning to collect data in the direct vicinity of our University. This project builds upon the reef surveys along the Saudi coast completed in 2009 and 2010 and will study the changing reef environment, coral health, and changes in the microbial populations of symbiotic algae and other microbes.

There have also been two research cruises in Saudi waters for the scientists to make initial assessments of the deepest areas of the sea and to begin to observe the currents and property distributions. In the future, they will extend their observations throughout the Red Sea. A third shipboard expedition is planned for the fall of 2011.

The observations will include the ocean currents, temperature, salinity, and other biologically relevant parameters and, where possible, meteorological measurements. The scientists will establish time series measurements of CO2 and seawater pH, as the threat of seawater acidification is of particular relevance

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The Red Sea Research Symposium and Center opening in April 2011 marked the first Thuwal event for the exchange of oceanic and coastal research of global proportions. In-Kingdom and international partners presented their work and discussed additional collaboration opportunities to advance research. For years, KAUST has aggressively pursued and maintained partner networks, pursuing a more comprehensive understanding of the Red Sea through collaborative work.

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The Red Sea | Continued from p.1

Collaborations:

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American University in Cairo Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Bigelow Lab for Ocean Studies, Maine, US Cambridge University, UK Centre Scientifique Monaco, France Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Girona, Spain CICATA-IPN Unidad Altamira, Mexico CRIOBE, Moorea, French Polynesia Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, US Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, US Hellenic Center for Marine Research, Greece Helmholtz Center for Environmental Health, Germany Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology (ICML) of UNAM, Mexico James Cook University, Townsville, Australia Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Bremen, Germany Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida, US

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Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Oman Gulf of Thailand Keppel Islands, Australia Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea Liquid Jungle Lab, Panama Lizard Island, Australia Manus Island, Papua New Guinea

to coral ecosystems. They will also install sensors for continuous observations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish in various locations in the sea.

The data collected from the instruments will be assimilated into numerical models of the ocean and atmosphere of our shores. “This is the first time that all these various types of observations can be made on the same scale,” said Prof. Luyten, “allowing our oceanographers and modelers to speak in the same language as our biologists and atmosphere scientists.”

Red Sea observations and data not only bring together biologists and oceanographers, but

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Mediterranean Sea Moorea, French Polynesia Musandam Peninsula, Oman Nadi, Fiji Noumea, New Caledonia One Tree Island, Australia Orpheus Island, Australia Red Sea Coast, Saudi Arabia

The Nature Conservancy, Brisbane, Australia New England Aquarium, Massachusetts, US Penn State, Pennsylvania, US Scripps Institute of Oceanography, California, US Stanford, California, US Sultan Qaboos University, Oman Texas A&M, US University of Austin, Texas University of California, Merced, US University of California, Santa Cruz, US University of Hamburg, Germany University of Konstanz, Germany University of Massachusetts, US University of Perpignan, France University of South Florida, US University of Stuttgart, Germany University of Texas, US University of Wuerzburg, Germany Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, US

mathematicians and engineers as well. The RSRC is the only center at KAUST that touches all three divisions: Chemical Life Sciences and Engineering, Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Engineering, and Physical Sciences and Engineering. This multidisciplinary approach is what is challenging at most other oceanographic institutes in the world, said Prof. Luyten, but it has been carefully woven into the fabric of the RSRC. “We talk with each other at RSRC,” explained Prof. Luyten, “which is the only way we will come to a comprehensive understanding of the amazing resource that is right here at our doorstep.”

explore

2

the Red Sea at the KAUST Library

The KAUST Library is building a premier collection of books, journals, maps, and digital information about all aspects of the Red Sea. It seems only appropriate that this library, situated so beautifully on the shore of the Red Sea and supporting an ambitious marine science research program, should take on this international responsibility.

“We have begun the exciting hunt to find and acquire all important scholarship, research, and even popular literature about the science and history of the Red Sea from ancient times to the modern era,” says Joe Branin, KAUST Library Director. “This will be the place to come for information about the Red Sea.” In the last year, the library has obtained hundreds of books, many of them hard-to-find, outof-print titles on the Red Sea. These books are now on display and available for use on Level 2 of the KAUST Library. They range from a facsimile of a centuriesold English travelogue entitled “A Series of Adventures in the Course of a Voyage Up the RedSea, on the Coasts of Arabia and Egypt" (1780) to more contemporary marine and diver guides, such as “The Egyptian Red Sea: A Diver’s Guide" (1998) and “Red Sea Sharks" (1999), which claims to be “the only comprehensive guide to sharks of the Red Sea in a single volume.”

The growing collection contains a number of interesting scientific reports, including “Hot Brines and Recent Heavy Metal Deposits in the Red Sea" (1969) and “The Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A Historical Review" (1994), which provides a detailed catalogue, with maps and charts, of earthquakes in the Red Sea region from earliest times to the present.

One of the most notable books for its photographs is “Saudi Arabian Sea Shells: Selected Red Sea and Arabian Gulf Molluscs" (1981) by Doreen Sharabati, who “tells the story of shells, how and where they live, and through beautiful photography introduces her readers to the inspiring hobby of malacology.”

KAUST Library | Continued on p.5

www.kaust.edu.sa

Red Sea

“ I was introduced to KAUST as a master’s fellow in the Biotechnology program at the American University in Cairo. At KAUST, my focus revolves around cultivating one of the most important members of marine microbial community; the cyanobacterial genus Prochlorococcus. Using cutting-edge equipment available at KAUST, and with expertise from collaborators such as the Chisholm lab at MIT, we continue to culture Prochlorococcus strains and eventually characterize Prochlorococcus-specific genes, to determine new genus-specific traits and perhaps reveal novel ecotypes for expanded and more precise lineage phylogenetic trees.”

May 2011

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LAB GEAR

ISIIS-2

In Situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System 2

­— Ahmed Shibl, PhD student Illustration BY: Hazim Al Radadi

Mesopelagic fish:

Small fish of big importance The open ocean, or pelagic zone, is the area of ocean outside of coastal areas and is home to diverse and even bizarre marine species. The pelagic zone is further organized into several subzones, according to their depth and living Fig. 1: Red Sea researchers study the light fish Maurolicus muelleri. The conditions (e.g., temperature and sunlight penrows of green light organs seen along the belly of the fish are used for etration). Depending on how deep the sea is, there counter-illumination to conceal its silhouette to an upward looking can be up to five horizontal layers; beginning predator. top-down they are: epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathecho sounders, which scan the water depths by means of ypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadopelagic zones. sound waves. Initial use of echo sounders from vessels has Professor Stein Kaartvedt and his group at the Red Sea proven the presence and abundance of such fish in the Red Research Center (RSRC) are conducting a study of fish in Sea (Fig. 2). the mesopelagic layer—the zone from 200 meters down to The RSRC will soon deploy cabled ocean observatories about 1,000 meters (3,300 ft). The light that penetrates to with submerged echo sounders. This approach will enathis depth is extremely faint, too dim for photosynthesis ble studies of even centimeter-sized organisms and their to occur. Even though this depth is oligtrophic, characpotential predators in their undisturbed natural environterized by darkness and scarcity of food, it’s home to an ment at depths of hundreds of meters and at time scales abundance of small fishes that hide in the dark depths of seconds to years. Continous and simultaneous obserduring the day and ascend to forage into the upper, more vations of light and optical properties will be made. productive waters under the cover of darkness at night.

Additionally, a “dark room” where all aspects of the underThese mesopelagic fish carry out daily vertical migrations, water light climate can be manipulated will be built in spanning up to 1,000 meters, which may play a potenthe Coastal and Marine Core Lab, facilitating experimental tial, yet little-known role in the transport of carbon to studies of the deep sea fauna. This modeling will be used deeper waters. to test theories of vertical distribution and migration in These fishes have extremely sensitive eyes to utirelation to visual predation, feeding, and the light regime. lize the faint light that occurs at such depths during the Experimental studies will be used to assess behavior and day, as well as for locating prey in upper waters at night. visual sensitivity.

In addition to sensitive eyes, other adaptations include The RSRC studies the Red Sea and its organisms to learn bioluminescent (light-producing) organs known as phomore about the functioning of this ocean in particular. tophores. Some fish have bioluminescent organs on their However, just as important is to use the Red Sea as a model head, much like a search light, whereas others produce a system to learn more about general principles and procglowing lure to attract prey. Some bioluminescence is in esses. The northern part of the Red Sea is a low nutrient, a gender-specific light pattern to help find a mate. Many clear water ocean—as are the largest marine ecosystems on mesopelagic fish have rows of photophores on their underearth. Yet, such systems are much less studied than oceans sides that match surface brightness, which obscure their at high latitudes. And while the Red Sea is similar to other silhouette to predators swimming below them (Fig. 1). oceans in many respects, it also has its own peculiarities, Although such adaptations are fascinating, what such as very warm deep water, being ~21°C all the way intrigues Prof. Kaartvedt and his group the most is to the bottom, a depth of more than 2,000 meters. How the huge importance of these small deep-living fishes this affects deep sea fishes and other fauna in the Red Sea in marine ecosystems. Mesopelagic fish are found all compared with those in the cold, deepwater habitats elsearound the globe, with the world’s largest populations in where in the world is also on the researchers' agenda. the Arabian Sea, making them of special interest to the Arabian Peninsula. Their abundance worldwide is likely 10 to 100 times higher than the total yearly global fishery catch. They are important predators of zooplankton and are themselves prey for larger fish, squids, sea mammals, and birds. Yet, small deep-living fishes are little studied, likely due to lack of commercial exploitation and the methodological problems associated with studying such remotely living organisms.

Particularly little is known about these fishes in the Fig. 2: This echogram shows acoustical scattering of layers of Red Sea, but the RSRC is in a unique position to change fish undertaking daily vertical foraging migrations from daythat. Deepwater habitats occur close to the shores of our time depths between 200 m and near 800 m to upper waters University and researchers and students have access to the at night. The separate layers are composed of different species and fish sizes. The color scale reflects the abundance, with redmost modern instrumentation for deep sea studies. One brown echoes depicting the most fish. Vertical lines are “noise.” approach to unveil new secrets from the deep is to apply

“ After completing my bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science at Mahidol University, Thailand, I applied for a master’s in marine science at KAUST. I completed my MS last December, but I hadn’t had enough of the Red Sea, so I decided to stay and join the Red Sea Research Center to do my PhD. My main interest is in analyzing coral associated bacteria and studying the differences between healthy and diseased corals.” ­— Chatchanit Farah Arif, PhD student

ISIIS-2

BELLAMARE

CAPABILITIES Volume imaged: Speed of vehicle in water: Field of view: Depth of field: Data rate: Pixel resolution: Line Scan Camera: Scanning rate:

130 liters/seconds 5 knots 135 mm 00 mm 80 MB/seconds 70 µm 2,040 vertical pixels of resolution 36,000 lines per second

Estimating the abundance of life in the ocean has traditionally been done by towing a net through the ocean and counting individual organisms after recovering the sample providing they can still be identified. Acoustic methods are efficient and non-invasive but often require physical confirmation of the species responsible for the scattering.

The ISIIS-2 is an advanced underwater scanning instrument that provides high resolution imaging of marine zooplankton such as fish larvae and fragile gelatinous organisms. With this instrument, it is now possible to estimate the abundance and distribution of various individual species without capturing or destroying them and to correlate their abundance with the physical and chemical characteristics in situ. The instrument is towed through the ocean behind a ship and can profile from close to the surface down to 200 meters depth. The ISIIS-2 will allow our marine biologists to image a large volume of water in order to study a range of organisms from small, abundant plankton, to larger and rarer specimens such as fish larvae.

This instrument utilizes a high-resolution line-scanning camera with a back illumination light-emitting diode (LED) light source, providing exceptional resolution and depth of field. As seawater passes between the forward portions of two streamlined pods, real-time images are captured of plankton in their natural position and orientation. ISIIS-2 is capable of imaging 130 liters of water per second (at a speed of five knots, ~2 m/s) with a pixel resolution of 70 µm, imaging particles from 1 mm to 13 cm in size.

The imaging data and associated oceanographic data is ported to the surface via an electro-optic optic oceanographic cable, stored and processed on the ship. Individual organisms are then identified using a pattern recognition system.

The ISIIS-2 was developed by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Atmospheric and Marine Science (RSMAS) in collaboration with the subsea engineering company, Bellamare, LLC, located in San Diego, CA. It’s a breakthrough technology at the onset of its commercialization.

At present, besides RSMA our University is the only other institution with an ISIIS platform.

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Red Sea

May 2011

The Beacon

Modeling the Circulation and Climate of the Red Sea Left: Eddies with complex spatial structure as suggested by the satellite MODIS visual image of the surface chlorophyll north of KAUST on June 8, 2010.

Middle: (Fig. 1) Surface circulation in the Red Sea as tracked by drifters. The color represents the depths in the Red Sea. Right: (Fig. 2) Summer surface circulation and salinity distribution from the MITgcm simulation.

The Red Sea is a 2,250 km meridionally-elongated oceanic basin between the African and Asian continents. It is over 2,300 meters deep at its maximum. In the south east it exchanges its flows with the Indian Ocean. It is an economically rich oceanic basin with a source for water, seafood, and offshore oil. It is fringed by extensive coral reefs that support important fisheries and attract tourists. It also plays a role in the security of the region, being one of the world’s most important shipping routes, and it includes the largest commercial shipping port in the Middle East, Jeddah city. Hence, it is crucial for Saudi Arabia to model and study the oceanic circulation of the Red Sea, support studies of coral reef ecology and lay the foundation for a future prediction system of its physical and biological oceanography, and the overlying atmospheric circulation.

In spite of its economic and environmental importance, our knowledge of the oceanographic conditions of the Red Sea and the physical processes that drive it are at this point rudimentary. We know that the Red Sea is relatively unique in that large amounts of fresh water are transferred from the ocean to the overlying atmosphere (about 2 meters per year) through evaporation. This leads to the formation of a hyper-saline dense water mass that escapes from the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean. But the details of the circulation in the Red Sea itself and its variability on time scales from diurnal to interannual are still largely unknown. Moreover, recent analysis of satellite data suggests that the Red Sea registered the highest surface sea level increase worldwide and an impressive sea surface temperature increase of 0.7°C in the past two decades.

The denizens of reef ecosystems in the Red Sea—such as corals, plankton, and fish—are able to live in these hot, salty waters.

But further warming may have a significant impact on the Red Sea's ecosystems. It is well documented that the consequences of the intense warming are apparent across the entire marine

food web (i.e., from primary producers to top-predators), which can potentially lead to ecological breakdowns. Oceanic warming may have a direct or indirect impact on marine entities, thus there is a need to assess available past biological data (e.g., coral, fisheries, plankton) for potential responses to the new thermal state and to closely monitor the relatively unexplored and fragile Red Sea ecosystem.

Here at the University, Professor Ibrahim Hoteit, (Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics and Computational Science) and his team are using satellite, ground-truth, as well as modeled physical variability to investigate our recent finding of the climate change signature in the Red Sea and possibly identify its origin.

Understanding the circulation of the Red Sea and studying the evolution of its climate requires extensive observations not yet available. Unfortunately, the Red Sea was not part of the extensive international global ocean observation surveys that took place in the past decade and its complex variability remainsmostly unexplored. Because of the paucity of data, modeling Red Sea circulation becomes an important alternative in order to study and understand its variability. This would also complement the recent KAUST-WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Red Sea hydrography observation project, which represents the first systematic mapping of the physical characteristics of the Red Sea. The Red Sea has a number of inner shelves, estuaries, inlets, and extensive intertidal salt marshes with an irregular geometric coastal ocean topography that presents a challenge for oceanographers involved in model development. Recently, Prof. Hoteit’s team implemented two state-of-the-art general circulation ocean models that consist of momentum, continuity, temperature, salinity, and density equations; are closed physically and mathematically using turbulence closure submodels; and have been implemented, scaled, and tested on the University’s supercomputer, Shaheen. These are the MIT general circulation model (Fig. 1) and the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (Fig. 2).

The Red Sea exhibits a distinct and unique overturning circulation. During most of the year, except in summer, the surface water from the Gulf of Aden enters the Red Sea through the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, flows northward along the basin and becomes saltier due to the high evaporation rate. In the

" I have been obsessed with sharks for about two decades. My home was hundreds of miles from any ocean, so my access was limited. But now I live on the Red Sea and have opportunities such as spending a month chasing whale sharks as part of Dr. Beruman's tagging project. I want to study sharks for the rest of my life and KAUST has given me the access needed.” ­— Jesse Cochran, MSc student

northern end of the Red Sea, this inflowing water reaches its highest salinity and sinks to form a southward returning flow in deeper depths. The water above the sill depth (140 m) will be renewed by this overturning circulation in about seven to eight years. As a striking feature, our researchers recently observed that models show this overturning circulation is reversed in summer, exhibiting a southward surface outflow and a northward deep inflow from the Gulf of Aden. The model simulations suggest that this reversal is associated with the upwelling in the Gulf of Aden driven by the summer Indian monsoon.

The deep inflow from the Gulf of Aden is rich in nutrients and may have a significant impact on the ecosystem in the southern Red Sea. The simulations further suggest that the surface circulation in the Red Sea also exhibits complex temporal and spatial structures. For a snapshot taken at the surface, the circulation is very energetic and a chain of eddies fill the basin. These eddies are important means by which the coastal nutrients are transported to the interior of the Red Sea. This emphasizes the importance of our collaborative project with the Hellenic Center for Marine Research in Greece to couple our physical models with biological models to simulate the variability of the Red Sea ecosystem and to understand its environment.

The goal of this project is to utilize all available satellite and in situ data in the Red Sea and the two Red Sea models (MITgcm and FVCOM) to study and accurately simulate all aspects of the Red Sea circulation and climate. This includes studying water mass exchange with adjacent water bodies, unexplored deep circulation, and impact of the global climate on the Red Sea variability and climate, leading to a better understanding of air-sea interactions in this region. Prof. Hoteit and his team are also developing advanced four-dimensional data assimilation techniques to optimally combine all available information from the models and observations to determine the best possible estimates of the past, present, and future time-varying Red Sea state. This would represent the foundation of an advanced operational system to routinely predict the state of the Red Sea. They will also reconstruct the four-dimensional variability of the Red Sea in the past 50 years to analyze its decadal variability and to study the impact of global warming on its circulation.

The long-term objectives are to integrate atmospheric and biological models into the system and to run the three-way coupled system online, as one system capable of accurately simulating the physical-biological environments of the Red Sea. This system will impart valuable information previously unknown, which can be used in comprehensive predictive models and multiple practical applications.

As a Saudi national, research scientist Dr. Yassser Abualnaja finds great satisfaction in being able to advance his research in his home country. Years ago, while completing his PhD in the US, he had hoped the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would one day have its own oceanographic center comparable to leading institutions found around the globe. At KAUST, Dr. Abdualnaja has found the facilities, equipment, accessibility to the field, and collaboration with other distinguished scientists to be the exact opportunity he was looking for, to follow his passion and contribute to impacting the nation.

Using time series measurements for Met/Oceanic data collected from a meteorological tower station on campus, Dr. Abdualnaja studies the circulation and hydrography off the Red Sea coas ­— significantly advancing the understanding of this understudied topic. This data will provide the first comprehensive description of the physical oceanography of the Red Sea. Not only is this data critical for understanding the behavior of air-sea interaction, but it offers supporting data for studies on coral reef ecology and will provide a baseline for long–term monitoring of the coastal environment.

Red Sea

www.kaust.edu.sa

May 2011

5

OSLO

THUWAL

From Thuwal to Oslo While warm waters lap the sandy shores of the Red Sea, cold waters pound the cliffs of the Norwegian coast. While coral reefs exploit the sun of the tropics, kelp and seaweed flourish in the nutrient rich waters at high latitudes. And while the clear waters of the Red Sea may help fish see down to 1,000 m depth, stunning darkness facilitates the life of “nonvisual predators” like jellyfish in murkier waters. These are just a few of the physical features that differentiate low- and high-latitude marine ecosystems. With the physical stage thus set, interactions between aquatic plants and animals further shape what eventually makes up the structure and function of marine ecosystems.

To be a marine scientist means to know (and seek to know) how physics, chemistry, and biology interact in forming the life of our oceans. Despite large global differences, general principles apply. Comparative studies give site-specific knowledge on fauna and flora, but also provide insight into forces and mechanisms creating marine ecosystems. Practical work is a critical part of ensuring the highest quality of training, and the spring semester’s marine science courses emphasize the hands-on experience.

This is why our marine science students recently left the tropical Red Sea to do field work in a Norwegian fjord. Comparative field work in other seas is a critical part of the marine science curriculum to help broaden scientific perspectives as well as enhancing a student’s research experience and technique. During a week of intense work at º60 N latitude, the focus was on measuring the physics of the ocean; sampling, identifying, and analyzing the biology of the tiny algae and animals that drift with the water masses (phytoplankton and zooplankton); trawling for fish; using echo sounders to characterize the life in the water column; assessing communities of macroalgae and their inhabitants; conducting experiments in aquaria; and much more. The course, Structure and Function of Marine Ecosystems, finalized a spring semester of intensive hands-on training with courses specializing in coral reef ecology, marine genomics, and marine microbiology.

Feedback from students who participate in these intensive “block courses” overwhelmingly indicates that they benefitted from the enhanced learning experience and gained valuable skills directly applicable to their future research plans.

Block Courses The Marine Science curriculum incorporates standard classroom courses enriched by both lab access and field work. Critical to an enhanced learning experience, unique block courses are offered during the spring semester, giving students three to four weeks of intensive, immersive, and hands-on practical experience. During this time, students devote all of their time to only one course, fully engrossing themselves in the research topic for a month. This method is a highly effective training tool and provides an education only attainable through weeks of uninterrupted research efforts. These accelerated courses provide a more complete understanding and depth of knowledge greatly appreciated by students.

The Red Sea’s Microbial Bounty The Marine Microbial Ecology group, led by Assistant Professor of Marine Science Uli Stingl, is ideally positioned at King Abdullah University of Science and Surgeonfish of the genus Acanthurus.

Technology to investigate and utilize the microbial diversity of the Red Sea. The Red Sea’s combination of enviThe large symbiotic bacterium Epulopisronmental extremes cium sp. morphotype B. Arrows indicate resembles the worstthe formation of daughter cells at the pols. case effects of global warming in temperate oceans. By studying adaptations to thermal stress and high salinity of the most prominent photo- and heterotrophs in marine waters worldwide, the Cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus sp. and the Proteobacteria 'SAR11', the Marine Microbial Ecology researchers are trying to understand the consequences of global warming for marine bacteria and their impact on the marine food web. Because the Red Sea has many salinity, temperature, and nutrient gradients, samples are being collected from many areas to create a complete inventory of Red Sea microbial communities. Utilizing metagenomic analyses, the group has already identified several genetic features involved in microbes’ adaptive response to high temperatures.

Marine Microbial Ecology researchers are also sequencing genomes of single bacteria that are not possible to be cultivated in laboratory conditions. These sequences will lead to discoveries of environment-specific genomic regions — for example, genes that help microbes survive in the high temperatures of the Red Sea. Regular sampling of microbial populations at a fixed location on the Red Sea will offer a view into long-term changes in the microbial community and the effects that temperature and other physical parameters have. These samples will be characterized by pyrosequencing of the highly conserved 16S rRNA gene. A collection of microbes will be maintained for in-depth physiological and genomic studies and will be made available as a resource beyond KAUST. The Marine Microbiology Ecology group’s forays into characterization of extremophilic microorganisms from deep-sea anoxic brine pools in the Red Sea have already yielded isolation of previously unknown microbes and identification of entirely new groups of microbes. Prof. Stingl’s group expects that the microbes possess novel metabolic pathways, enzymes, and chemicals that may have use in biotechnology applications. Halophiles, such as those isolated by the researchers, may offer valuable new proteins and enzymes for production of food additives; bioplastics; and bacteriorhodopsin, which has wide use including in holography, neural networks, and optical computing. These microbes may also aid bioremediation of contaminated soils and waters, enhance oil-recovery processes, and recover saline soils for agriculture.

In another research project, with a focus on a single, macroscopic microorganism, the Marine Microbial Ecology group is

working to demystify the enigmatic Epulopiscium sp. bacterium, which lives symbiotically within intestinal tracts of surgeonfish. This microbe is one of the largest prokaryotes and is, in fact, so big (700 μm) that it can be seen without a microscope. Despite its monumental size (in relation to its microscopic relatives, which are almost ten orders of magnitude smaller in volume), Epulopiscium is not well studied. Prof. Stingl’s group believes the microbe might have unconventional intracellular molecules and pathways to control local gene regulation and expression—molecules that could be useful for the biotechnology industry. To cultivate this little-studied microbe in the lab, the group intends to determine oxygen, hydrogen, pH, and redox profiles, as well as the chemical composition of fatty acids, of the gut of surgeonfish, where the microbes live. With these data, the researchers can develop a cultivation approach that will allow Epulopiscium to be grown in the lab. The group is also obtaining data on the genome of different Epulopiscium species, their diversity and distribution in surgeonfishes and similar coral reef fishes through pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, and investigating the phylogenetic diversity of all symbiotic bacteria together with the host fish to determine whether the symbionts coevolved with their hosts.

KAUST Library | Continued from p.2

Collecting published print material about the Red Sea is just part of the library’s plan. Capturing and organizing the rapidly expanding output of digital information and scientific data about this subject is another “kettle of fish,” according to Branin. Today’s marine research, like research in any scientific field, is producing an enormous amount of raw data, digital images and documents, and tacit knowledge that is difficult to pin down and reuse. However, researchers, librarians, and information technology staff at KAUST are working together

to meet this grand knowledge management challenge in the sciences.

The KAUST Library is about to open its digital repository service to collect important digital objects and records produced by KAUST researchers, including those in marine science. Fahmi Machda, Noru Ichim-Moreno, Chandra Prasetyo Utomo, and Christian Voolstra from the KAUST Red Sea Research Center and the Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Engineering Division recently published an article in the Oceans ’10 IEEE

conference proceedings that describes the development of the “Red Sea Biogeographic Information System.” Using their domain expertise in marine science, data modeling, and Web 2.0 technologies, they have designed a system that will help facilitate the long term storage, organization, and retrieval of marine research data.

From books on shelves about sea shells to digital images in data storage detailing diving dolphins, KAUST will be the place to find information and research about the Red Sea.

Red Sea

May 2011

PHOTOS BY: Michael Berumen

6

The Beacon To watch a video of a whale shark in the Red Sea, scan the QR code below with your mobile device.

http://rsrc.kaust.edu.sa/Pages/ whale-shark-tagging.aspx

MARINE BIOLOGY & CONSERVATION According to the 2008 Status of Coral Reefs of the World report, the Red Sea's coral reef system is among the healthiest in the world, but unfortunately it doesn’t mean that it’s impervious to threats imposed by large coastal populations, such as overfishing, pollution, and coastal development.

The most effective reef conservation efforts are those informed and guided by hard science, thus optimizing their effects. The Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) is pursuing several efforts for the assessment and monitoring of the Red Sea, which will provide insights into the underlying science which is at present largely missing.

Studies in movement ecology aim to develop a local conservation strategy that is commonly applied worldwide: the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs). MPAs are largely regarded as effective measures to protect, preserve, and sustainably manage areas to safeguard their special value and to preserve threatened species of flora and fauna. It is an ecosystem approach to conservation and management to assure long-term sustainability of the region’s critical habitats and populations

of globally important species and is endorsed

by PERSGA: the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. KAUST intends to participate in the design and implementation of MPAs in the Red Sea, and such projects are most successful if based on information about the movements of targeted species.

Beyond establishing an integrated regional network of MPAs supported by effective, integrated management and planning, the actual site selection of MPAs is critical. Sites should be based on a complete habitat and biodiversity maping, and a socio-economic survey of the area. It is generally accepted that if reefs are protected from fishing they remain in a healthier state, but more data is needed to determine how large a protected area should be. Specifically, managers need information related to how organisms move and what the connectivity is between reefs within a system.

Current research is being performed specifically with larval connectivity and adult movement.

This work includes movement ecology studies of pelagic fishes, such as whale sharks and dogtooth tuna, using acoustic tagging to study within- and

among-reef movements. Tags are implanted (surgically for fish, externally for whale sharks) and receiver arrays deployed near Thuwal and Al Lith will track movement data.

This is the world's largest whale shark tagging program. Regular ‘hotspots’ of whale sharks have been identified near Al Lith and near Al Qunfidhah. Preliminary results from whale sharks tagged in previous years seem to indicate surprisingly limited movement of the Red Sea whale shark populations. Related studies are being initiated to investigate the plankton communities associated with whale shark movement patterns.

In addition to movement, the human impact on reefs and fish populations need to be further studied. Like most oceans, the Red Sea faces the problem of overfishing, a problem acknowledged by Saudi authorities. In order to manage fisheries, the biology of targeted species must be understood first. The fisheries and larger scale marine food web related efforts at KAUST involve surveys throughout Saudi waters, and eventually aim to include the entire Red Sea. The analysis of fisheries catch statistics is part of the WHOI/KAUST effort that will be broadened to

engage directly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The establishment of moorings with echo sounders will provide continuous observations of zooplankton and fish at selected sites. Additionally, food web studies will be carried out on reefs near Al Lith, but also include sampling in key mangrove and seagrass areas along the coast, such as in Khor Al Kharar (north of Thuwal). Studies of the connectivity of fish populations will further contribute to this topic.

Collections for these studies have initially been designed to assess the population genetics of clownfish. Classic population genetics are used to get a rough idea of larval exchange among populations. If the circumstances are favorable, these studies will be expanded to include actual tracking of individual larvae among reefs using microsatellite-based parentage analysis.

Documenting ecologically and demographically relevant rates of larval exchange among reefs is by far the most powerful information available to inform design of MPAs.

PHOTO BY: Christian Voolstra

MONiTORING CORAL COMMUNITIES KAUST is currently setting up a coral monitoring station in order to learn more and understand seasonal changes of coral reefs in regard to microbial assemblage, stress, and bleaching patterns.

The plan includes deploying monitoring buoys in Thallah (North) and Al Fahal (South), near to Thuwal, and will eventually expand to include a total of five or six reefs in the Thuwal region.

Projecting further, a comparative approach will be implemented by incorporating environmentally impacted reefs around the Jeddah region. This project is on track to be the largest scale of coral reef tracking in the world.

The collection of samples in the field will be integrated and analyzed with high-resolution molecular techniques with the monitoring of key environmental and ecological factors. The incorporation of quantitative environmental data (i.e., meta-data), to the analysis of molecular datasets now

facilitates taking a multivariate approach to identify the factors responsible for the variation seen in different environments. This perspective will add to our understanding of ecosystem phenotypes by elucidating ecosystems top-down and bottom-up (i.e., from microbial community structure to physical oceanographic parameters).

Mostly using the genetics and proteomics facilities at KAUST, a comprehensive analysis of microbial life in the Red Sea and a deep understanding of the function of microbes for carbon fluxes and ecology of this ecosystem will be accomplished. The current work, also involving our Global Collaborative Research partners, has involved observation and sampling in various Red Sea locations, from dive boats and coastal locations by divers. This survey will provide comparative analyses of microbial communities, genetic capacities, and metabolic pathways throughout the Red Sea that can be exploited for pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications. This inventory will be used as a baseline to determine metabolic hot spots for more detailed analyses as well as culturing efforts, and to determine an ideal site for a microbial observatory. Furthermore, a molecular analysis of microbial communities will provide a first insight into adaptations of microbes to the high temperature, high salinity, and low carbon content of the Red Sea.

Coral reefs are beautiful and complex ecosystems. They are also indicators of ecosystem health, because they are incredibly sensitive to environmental changes. Certain coral host-algal symbiont combinations, however, are better at withstanding environmental turmoil such as drastic shifts in temperature or turbidity. Assistant Professor Christian R. Voolstra and his colleagues in the Coral Reef Ecological Genomics in the Red Sea group are studying coral-algal symbioses in the extreme environment of the Arabian Gulf to gather insight into the capacity of corals to persist and recover from rapid shifts in climate. Prof.

Voolstra is also using high-throughput de novo sequencing to obtain the genome of the coral Stylophora pistillata.

Corals are representative of the phylum Cnidaria, and the

genome sequence will lay the foundation for all further molecular studies of coral biology and could benefit coral resource management. A genome of the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium sp. will also be sequenced.

As a group, dinoflagellates have adapted to a broad range of environments and have a wide array of forms and nutrition sources. The eukaryotes can be free-living, but they can also be symbiotic (in corals, as Symbiodinium sp. is) or even predatory (for example, Pfiesteria, which preys on fish). Dinoflagellates are cousins to apicomplexans, which include the Plasmodium microorganism that causes malaria. The genome of Symbiodinium sp. may offer insight into the capacities, weaknesses, and evolution of parasitism and mutualism.

PHOTO BY: Michael Berumen

Contemplating Corals

Red Sea

www.kaust.edu.sa

May 2011

3

The Coastal & Marine Resources Core Lab The facilities will be home to the Aquarium Exhibition Hall, open to the public and displaying a wide array of rare specimens, living corals, and other interactive displays.

The aim of the sea life exhibition is to highlight the unique biodiversity that can be found within the Red Sea in its various ecosystems.

Various marine operations and logistical services are offered to the research community for a wide range of small and large scale fieldwork in offshore and coastal areas. Small scale operations include sediment sampling, fish studies in coastal areas, water quality sampling, dive surveys, and sampling. Largescale operations include but are not limited to deep ocean data buoy placement and servicing, deep ocean sediment and water sampling, and benthic trawling. CMOR is equipped with a wide range of research vessels and sophisticated oceanographic equipment to sustain an expanding range of fieldwork.

Research diving is at the core of the CMOR scope of marine research services.

Of the many marine operations the Core Lab has been undertaking since the establishment of the University, the Red Sea Research Expedition series highlights a major mission. The Core Lab handles applying for permits from the government, planning of legs, coordination among teams, contracting of the research vessel, equipping the necessary experimental tools and consumables, lodging and transportation of participants, etc.

To maintain a technical edge in addition to providing fabrication services to cater to research needs, the machine workshop is equipped with precision fabrication instrumentation,

Decreasing Disruption to Coral Reefs Although most attention is presently focused on global warming as the main contributor to the global decimation of coral reef systems, there is a more imminent threat to the coral reefs of the Red Sea. The beauty and magnificence of the coral reefs in the region have led Red Sea countries to add the recreational practices of snorkeling and scuba diving to tourism efforts. With the increase of boat traffic from recreational divers, researchers, as well as fishermen, anchoring of these small and medium sized vessels has threatened the coral reef ecosystems. This anchor damage to coral beds is the most preventable form of coral damage caused by humans.

There are currently no regulations on where these vessels may drop their anchors, and they often choose shallow regions on top of coral beds. In more cases than not, the location is selected for the abundance of marine life present and is consistently used until the site is less prolific. Anchoring can result in serious damage to a reef bed through the scraping off of large sections of the polyp surface of corals. Even more harmful are the cases where large pieces of coral are ripped up to be later deposited in a substantially different environment, causing it to die off.

There exists little debate that reducing the amount of anchoring on coral reef areas can lessen the amount of damage seen on the corals, allowing the corals to thrive once again. In some sections of the Red Sea, governments have set up marine protected areas (MPAs) that restrict or limit boat traffic. However, developing MPAs along the entire coastline is impractical, not to mention severely disruptive to a country’s tourism industry.

One solution that allows not only for the coral ecosystems to thrive but also the ability for tourism to flourish is the installation of mooring buoys. Mooring buoys are floating buoys that

Protecting The Red Sea

prototyping, and electronics capabilities to serve all disciplines with a particular focus in the marine realm. CMOR will carry out design, fabrication, and calibration of research tools and setups.

The scientific staff of CMOR has been active in shouldering particular research tasks and projects. The Core Lab has Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem, been awarded a client-funded study Manager of the Coastal and Marine Resources Core Lab (Biomonitoring of Marine Pollution in Jeddah Coastal Waters: Fish Tissue Contaminants) to monitor various contaminant levels in the major fish species from the coastal waters and fish markets of Jeddah. The results will determine the potential health risks associated with public consumption of contaminated fish in the Jeddah area and aid clients in improving applicable regulations, advisory mechanisms, and nutritional guidelines to protect the general public.

The lab is also involved in mangrove fertilization experiments with the Utrecht University research team to examine the growth patterns of the black mangrove Avicennia marina along the Saudi Red Sea coast in response to nitrogen and phosphorus inputs.

During the Red Sea Expedition in 2010, using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), CMOR scientists and researchers from the Hellenic Center for Marine Research in Greece discovered a new cold seep system off the Thuwal coast, not far from the University campus. This discovery is leading to further investigations that are being planned to elucidate the cold seeps biodiversity and physiochemical properties.

Mooring BUOY

A 46 cm diameter, white propyethylene plastic ball filled with polyurethane.

Eye splice with hose shackled to the eyebolt.

Double Eyebolts:

A new eyebolt design used at Key Westarea reefs by Reef Relief is shaped like a horseshoe. Both ends are inserted into two core drillings and hydrolically cemented into the ocean bottom.

Ideal for use by boats over 40 ft in length.

Manta Rays:

A third type of mooring suitable for areas of rubble bottom includes a long galvanized rod attached to an anchor-type device that is jack-hammered into the bottom, leaving the eyebolt exposed above the surface.

are tethered in the water column to a stainless steel eyebolt that is either secured to cement or a permanent anchor that has been drilled directly into the seafloor. This technique reduces the impact on the seafloor to minimal levels. The 46 cm x 10 cm anchors themselves are able to core into bedrock withstand 20,000 to 60,000 lb filed with hydraulic cement. of pull force allowing vessels to dock safely.

As a part of its mandate to reduce anthropogenic effects on the environment, Saudi Aramco, in collaboration with KAUST and Makkah Province Governorate, will coordinate with the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) on the planning, installation, and maintenance of 100 mooring buoys in the Saudi Red Sea. Several key recreational and research dive sites spanning the coastline between the University and Jeddah were selected for the installation of the mooring buoys. At each site, the floating buoys will allow small and medium sized boats to tie off directly, instead of anchoring; contributing to the rehabilitation and protection of the endangered coral reefs systems.

Illustration BY: Chris Kendall

PHOTO BY: Michael Berumen

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology is developing significant resources to support its Marine Science & Engineering research and education with its just opened Red Sea Research Center, and its service-oriented Coastal and Marine Resources Core Lab. The Coastal and Marine Resources Core Lab, conventionally referred to CMOR (pronounced SEA-more) on campus, is the University’s marine facility dedicated to providing specialized research services and developing novel oceanographic instrumentation.

CMOR’s two primary buildings are situated south of the main campus, adjacent to the pier. The direct access to the Red Sea is meant to allow for ease of fieldwork involving oceanographic sampling as well as the testing and deployment of new oceanographic instruments. CMOR will be equipped with indoor and outdoor seawater research labs, a multi-aquarium sea life exhibition for the public, a dedicated research dive operations facility, and a mechanical and marine electronics industrial level workshop.

The labs are to serve as the central base for supporting novel research and academic instruction. They will be comprised of specifically designed dry and wet spaces with a network of interchangeable tanks of various sizes in order to provide customization to any and all research initiatives. The dry labs have been established as areas for medium preparation, equipment groundwork, and sample preparation and analysis. The seawater labs will provide researchers with the capability of controlled experimentation, specimen culturing (corals, phytoplankton, ornamental fish, etc.), and preparation of samples for analysis.

“ To have reefs so close to research facilities is a privilege no other university possesses. Other centers often require scheduling field work weeks in advance. And with the Red Sea in particular, there is a great opportunity for an incredible amount of discoveries due to its understudied nature. In my few months here, I have already documented the first multi-species synchronous coral spawning event in the Red Sea and have recently submitted a publication on my findings.” ­— Jessica Boumeester, PhD student

Dr. Sameer J. Ghazi

As the only national agency responsible for the environment in Saudi Arabia, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has a clear interest in conserving and protecting the bounty of the Red Sea. PME works to maximize the benefits of natural resources in the Kingdom while also protecting these resources for current and future generations through sustainable development, conservation, and increasing public awareness of environmental issues. In his speech at the Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) inauguration last month, Dr. Sameer J. Ghazi,

PME’s Presidential Deputy for Environmental Affairs, said that RSRC will be integral in helping PME achieve sustainable development and protect the marine environment of the Red Sea. As a result of his attendance at the RSCS Symposium and discussions held there, Dr. Ghazi met with RSRC Director James Luyten and Dr. Yasser Abualnaja to craft a memorandum of understanding between PME and KAUST. They will work together to establish strategies to regulate activities on and pollution in the Red Sea to guarantee conservation and protect natural resources. This

would be accomplished through monitoring, survey, analysis, and assessment of the environmental impact of all activities and through guidelines on protection, control, clean-up, rehabilitation, and study of habitats affected by pollution. PME and RSRC would collaborate with two environmental conservation organizations: the Regional Organization for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Arabian Gulf and the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

8

Accolades

May 2011

The Beacon

2011 Graduate Research Symposium Campus Library Radiates

with Award-Winning Design An iconic part of campus, the KAUST Library is more than just a place to house periodicals. This contemporary building encased in translucent stone engages light to create a tranquil space for people to gather, think, and learn. It’s no surprise its distinctive architecture hasn’t gone unnoticed; the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association (ALA) have selected the KAUST Library among their five recipients for the 2011 AIA/ALA Library Building Award. This award is given to the finest examples of library design by architects licensed in the US. The Library has also been given two additional awards by the AIA San Francisco Design Awards Program, which celebrates

the best in architecture and urban design from Bay Area offices located in California, US. These awards recognize achievement in a broad range of architectural work. The Campus Library was designed by the firm HOK, which has a global network that includes 25 regional offices on three continents. The HOK office in San Francisco designed the interior space of the Library and this work has won the 2011 AIA San Francisco Award for Excellence in Energy and Sustainability, based on the integration of energy use and energy performance, as well as for the holistic approach of creating an aesthetically pleasing environment. The aesthetics of the Library also brought home the 2011 AIA San Francisco Award for Excellence in Architecture.

The first annual Graduate Research Symposium was held May 4-5, promulgating the scientific work of 86 master’s and doctoral students. This two-day, interdisciplinary exchange was a platform for connecting different scientific fields and inspiring further research.

The symposium began with an inspiring keynote lecture

by Dr. Ghazi Binzagr of the Binzagr Group of Companies.

He challenged students to embrace the humanity of science and to analyze the “frames through which you perceive your science and point of view—your preferred paths and disciplines.” Dr. Binzagr also incited attendees to awaken the curious child from within, to help drive research and build bridges of interdisciplinary collaboration. He further commented on the historic opportunity before graduate students at this University and compelled them to consider their unique personal calling to advancing science.

Following additional lectures by distinguished guests from industry and academia, graduate students presented their work through an oral or poster presentation and were judged based on performance and research quality. First, second, and third place awards were given to a total of 27 MS and PhD students: MS Orals

Mathematician Sets Record Numbers

David Keyes, Dean of Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Engineering and Professor of Applied Mathematics and Computational Science, was recently named to the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) 2011 Class

CLSE MCSE

swim, a 112 mile (180.25 km) bike race, and finally a 26.2 mile (42.2 km) run.

The following year, he suffered a second automobile-related injury when a car slammed into him, forcing his bike’s rear derailleur through his right leg. By the time he’d learned how to walk, jog, and run again, the sport had left him behind.

Thus the triathlon stayed for nearly 25 years, increasingly a fading memory.

But it refused to stay that way and was somewhat unexpectedly revived about six months ago, when Mr. Evans started training again. You may have noticed him on campus during his frequent four-hour bike rides or two-hour runs.

This intense training led up to April 10, his 50th birthday to be precise, when he won the 50–54 age group in the 2011 Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa, setting a new bike course and overall age group record. He placed as the top American male and 10th amateur overall in a race

PSE

Inside the classroom, KAUST Secondary School math teacher David Evans explores numbers with his students. Outside the classroom, Mr. Evans sets record numbers as an accomplished triathlete.

This past January, Mr. Evans placed first in the Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) community 5K race and the following month won first place in the men’s division at the KAUST Bike Race. But these wins were mere stepping stones to an event of much larger significance.

Mr. Evans has been an athlete since his high school years, but it has been a blend of exhilarating achievement and striking personal challenge. He suffered through an automobile accident injury in his teen years when the car he was in was struck by another driver. After years of recovery and training, at the age of 23 in 1984, he placed 7th overall at the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championships. The triathlon event consists of a 2.4 mile (3.86 km)

1. Salsabil Da'as 2. David Tan 3. Luis De La Mora 1. Arturo M. Mora 2. Sawsan Al-Halawani 3. Chengcheng Tang 1. Miguel Galicia Martinez 2. Ardiansyah Negara 3. Abdul Talukda

with 1,735 participants and, most importantly, was the sole 50–54 year-old male to qualify for this year’s Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

We congratulate Mr. Evans on his success in South Africa and wish him all the best in his endeavor in Kona, Hawaii, this coming October! of Fellows. He is one of 34 academics and professionals recognized for their outstanding contributions to applied mathematics and computational science through research in the field and service to the larger community.

ACS Nano, the leading journal in the field of nanomaterials (impact factor 7.5) recently published a paper by a group from the Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center (AMPM): Suzana Nunes, Professor, now member of the Water Desalination and Reuse Center | Klaus-Viktor Peinemann, Professor | Ali Reza Behzad, Research Scientist (Imaging and Characterization Lab) | Bobby Hooghan (FEI at KAUST) | Neelakanda Pradeep, Research Scientist | Rachid Sougrat, Research Scientist (Imaging and Characterization Lab) | Madhavan Karunakaran, Postdoctoral Fellow | Co-author is Ulla Vainio from Hasylab at DESY in Hamburg. | The paper is entitled “Switchable pH-Responsive Polymeric Membranes Prepared via Block Copolymer Micelle Assembly,” ACS Nano 2011.

PhD Orals 1. Grant Hill & Justine Mink 2. Mostafa Zeidan 3. Luay Joudeh 1. Gregorio AlanisLobato 2. Abdullah Khamis 3. Yiannis Hadjimichael

Posters 1. Abhinay Ramparsad 2. Francy Infante 3. Mohamed Elshenawy 1. Farania Rangkuti 2. Amin Allam 3. Luca Passone

1. Hossain Fahad

1. Yasser Khan

2. Jhonathan Rojas

2. Abdulrahman Al Shuhail

3. Farhan Abdul Ghaffar

3. Xuxin Ma