Setting the first Red Sea-wide coral ecosystem and biodiversity ‘baseline’.
The TRSC and its partners from Djibouti and Sudan conducted a coral mission in the Seven Brothers archipelago, in November
Watch the full film of the mission to Djibouti last September with TRSC’s local and regional partners.
Mission accomplished in the Gulf of Tadjoura where reefs demonstrate resistance to global warming at peak temperature.
Long-term vision and spirit of regional collaboration at the heart of the kick-off event of the new mission in Djibouti.
Samplings in Israeli and Jordanian waters: a milestone to the first ever Red Sea-wide coral ecosystem and biodiversity ‘baseline’.
Team spirit grows stronger between mission’s participants, all committed to the conservation of Red Sea corals.
Field work is on for TRSC’s team and its partners from the Marine Science Station and the Red Sea University in Port Sudan.
The TRSC and the Red Sea University carried out a series of observations along the Sudanese coast prior to the 2022 expedition.
First days at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat pier
Watch the video of the official launch of the first expedition season
Swiss sailboat Fleur de Passion arrived safely in Aqaba, Jordan, on June 10th after a six-week navigation
Discover the ceremony organized in Seville at the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation
The departure of Fleur de Passion for the Red Sea was the subject of a series of events organised in Seville
Since 2022, the Transnational Red Sea Center has started conducting scientific expeditions along the ca. 4'500 km coastline of the Red Sea. The aim of these expeditions on a series of selected coral reefs is to implement, step by step at the scale of the whole Red Sea, a first generation of scientific programs (see list opposite).
These programs using cutting-edge technologies, carried out in close collaboration with the local authorities and TRSC’ scientific partners on the ground, and capitalising on the work and expertise already done, intends to establish a highly holistic and comprehensive Red Sea-wide coral ecosystem and biodiversity baseline, and to generate high-priority scientific deliverables to the attention of local conservation policy makers - and more broadly the scientific community.
All the data generated are to be freely accessible according to the principle of open science.
Program 1 - 3D-mapping: scalable, reproducible and low-cost quantification of the abundance and health of reefs using machine learning
Program 2 - e.DNA: a novel approach to estimate coral species assemblages using environmental DNA metabarcoding
Program 3 - Seascape genomics: a study of coral reef population structure, dynamics, and adaptive potential
Program 4 - Marine pollution: systematic sampling for water quality: Assessing plastic and trace-metal pollution quantification and the impact on corals
Scalable, reproducible and low-cost quantification of the abundance and health of reefs using machine learning
The DeepReefMap program pioneers a scalable, low-cost method to monitor coral reef abundance and health using consumer electronics and machine learning. Traditional approaches rely heavily on manual labor and expert analysis, limiting scalability and comparability. By leveraging computer vision and deep learning, the program creates detailed, annotated 3D “digital twins” of shallow reef systems—capturing coral types, health, and structural features with minimal human input. These digital twins allow for precise, repeatable time-series analysis and serve as ground-truth data for large-scale coral reef monitoring.
The variability in resilience to ocean warming is critical to reef persistence, yet the scientific community lacks any standardized diagnostics to rapidly assess bleaching severity or resilience across different corals and locations. Using a newly developed portable experimental system that allows temperature manipulation in small volumes (termed the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System, CBASS), the program aims to i) determine empirical temperature thresholds for a range of Red Sea coral species through a series of acute in situ experiments, ii) examine the consistency of the exceptional thermal tolerance of coral species in the Red Sea across their latitudinal gradient, and iii) integrate these results into a thermal resilience map as a resource for the governments and to guide additional scientific investigations. This program is thus closely linked with the Seascape Genomics program described below.
This program leverages seascape genomics to reveal how corals adapt to diverse environmental conditions. By combining satellite remote sensing to identify reefs under varying stresses with genomic analysis of coral samples, it links genetic variants to environmental gradients. The resulting adaptation model predicts coral resilience across entire reef systems.
Importantly, integrating genomic data with ocean current patterns uncovers reef connectivity, identifying key ‘source’ and ‘sink’ sites vital for coral dispersal. This insight is crucial for informed marine protected area (MPA) design and site selection, ensuring MPAs protect resilient populations and maintain genetic flow essential for reef recovery and long-term ecosystem health.
This program will establish comprehensive baseline surveys of all anthropogenic pollutants across Red Sea coral reefs, identifying critical sites for conservation. It integrates visual assessments of macroplastics, sediment analysis for microplastics, heavy metals, and both organic and non-organic pollutants. Additionally, tissue sampling of corals and sponges will assess the ecological impacts of these contaminants. Together, these efforts will clarify pollution levels and effects, guiding targeted protection of this vital ecosystem.
