To celebrate World Ocean Day on 8th June, the Red Sea Research Center hosted a group of school students from The KAUST School where they learned about the wonders of the Red Sea.

Every year on World Ocean Day, people around the globe unite to celebrate and take action for our shared blue planet, with one ocean and one climate, which connect us all. In Saudi Arabia, with the striking blue waters of the Red Sea along the coastline, KAUST’s Red Sea Research Center represents the University’s most unique laboratory.

Open since 2009 with state-of-the-art facilities and world-class researchers, the Center undertakes a wide variety of research to formulate a comprehensive understanding of the Red Sea’s rich ecology. This knowledge is crucial to ensure sustainable use and conservation of its natural resources.

Conserving and sustainably using our oceans, seas, and marine resources is imperative in our path towards sustainable development and, as part of their visit, the students learned about the Red Sea’s many different ecosystems, and how to protect them. They enjoyed an underwater VR experience, and were educated on whale sharks, coral reefs, ocean conservation, brine pools, marine pollution, ocean sounds in a human world, and much more. The students also visited coral nursery aquariums at KAUST’s Coastal & Marine Resources Core Lab.

The Red Sea hosts coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, brine pools, and other important ecosystems. Its incredible biodiversity holds untapped potential for understanding globally significant questions, particularly concerning evolutionary biology, stress tolerance, and adaptation to extreme environments.