Testing the Red Sea

11 August, 2016

EGEL team members ventured 12 kilometers out into the Red Sea on August 11 to test the performance of a new in-situ tool that aims to provide subsurface sediment data that will add new insights into the physics of the Red Sea.


Dr. Marco Terzariol, a post-doctoral research fellow with the group leads the design of an in-situ sediment characterization tool that was built in the KAUST mechanical and electrical workshop.  Together with Ph.D. students Marisol Ramirez, Adrian Garcia, and visiting scholar Josbel Cordero, Dr. Terzariol utilized the Coastal & Marine Resources Core Lab’s research vessel, R/V Thuwal, to further determine the physical properties of the Red Sea including strength, fluid and thermal conductivity. The group also obtained sediment and fluid samples to conduct further physical, chemical and biological laboratory tests.

 

This in-situ characterization tool will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the physical and engineering properties of sediments. The results of the first test were promising and the tool will be deployed as part of a comprehensive study with the Red Sea Research Center.