Human beings constantly try to create unique environments and moving places. However, nature alone is capable of surprising us with landscapes and incredible phenomena. In this case, we will explain how it was formed the red sea. Its name is due to a reason that we will explain in this article and that science has been able to solve. Since ancient times it has been thought that this sea had magical properties due to its abnormal color.
Do you want to know everything about the Red Sea? Keep reading and you will find out.
The red sea and its characteristics
This incredible sea is located in the Indian Ocean. Between the continents of Asia and Africa we can see this sea, the result of a phenomenon. The area it occupies is about 450.000 square kilometers. It is about 2.200 km long and 500 meters deep. The deepest point has been recorded to be about 2130 meters below sea level.
The temperature of this sea does not vary too much given the environmental conditions. It is considered the warmest sea in the world since temperatures are in a range between 2 and 30 degrees. The lowest temperatures are registered during winter and in summer they reach the highest.
It has a fairly high salinity due to its high temperatures. Being warmer, the evaporation rate of the water is higher, so that the salinity increases its concentration. On the other hand, as it has very little rainfall, it does not renew the water, thus increasing salinity even more.
These conditions are what make this sea have very few animal and plant species, but they are unique. These are flora and fauna adapted after thousands of years to the current environmental conditions. 10% of all the fish in the world coexist in this sea and thanks to the warmth of the waters, coral reefs can develop well. Many of them they are capable of reaching lengths of 2000 kilometers. Coral reefs have a high ecological value for all the functions they have and the species that live thanks to them.
We also find some species of turtles such as green, leatherback and hawksbill turtles and others that are in danger of extinction.
Training
There are many scientists who have questioned over the years how this sea was formed. The theory that has been most successful in this regard is that which shows that it originated 55 million years ago when it took place the separation between Africa and the Arabian peninsula. This took place with the formation of the Pangea continent and is explained with continental drift theory.
When the separation took place, the crack that remained filled with water over time. This is how this sea began to form. Today, as we know thanks to plate tectonics, this separation is still active, so the sea continues to grow on the surface. As a result, the sea level is rising by about 12,5 centimeters a year. This will cause a change in the conditions of the Red Sea and, probably, after millions and millions of years, can become an ocean. This is the opposite of what will happen with the Mediterranean Sea, which will end up disappearing when the Strait of Gibraltar closes.
Why the Red Sea name
It is something that everyone wants to know since the name of the Red Sea is not given because the waters have a true red color. This name comes from the existence of certain cyanobacterial algae present in the sea. It is likely that these algae and cyanobacteria are responsible for the red tides that occur in this sea. Red tides occur because of seasonal outcrops that form near the surface of the sea. These algae are the ones that stain the water red. It is not a red as such, but it is reddish. This phenomenon can also be observed in Caribbean waters.
It has been found that, given the environmental conditions in which the sea is found, the concentration of algae is quite large. In some seasons of the year, they amount to such a quantity that they are capable of turning the water red. The problem comes when there is too much population of algae and they become competitors. The territory and the light is not enough to supply the needs of all the algae and it ends up dying.
This is part of the biological cycles of each species and, in this case, the concentrations of algae increase or decrease as the seasons go by. In the seasons where the concentration of algae is lower, the color is not red but brown. The most believers are those who think that the Red Sea has arisen from the story of Moses. As the waters parted to free his people and be persecuted by the Egyptians, the waters were stained red with their blood.
Reflection of the sky
Another theory about the origin of this strange color of the waters is the one that says that it is due to the reflection of the sky. The cliffs of the mountains near the Red Sea are reddish and what can be seen in the water it is nothing more than the reflection of the sky and the surrounding mountains. This hypothesis would explain this phenomenon well since Mount Sinai is located near the Red Sea and is reddish in color due to its iron minerals. These mountains are also called ruby mountains.
In the early hours of the morning the sun's rays incident on the mountains make the red color reflect in the water. It can be an explanation to it. However, there are also those who think that the inclined rays that reach us from the afternoon can explain the color in the water.
Personally, I think that the theory of cyanobacteria and algae is the most indicated, since the dissolved blood of the Egyptians would not always be present in the water as it would evaporate over the years and the reflection of the mountains and the sky would depend of the hours of the day. The Red Sea is always tinted the same way, it only varies with the time of year, which coincides with the theory of cyanobacteria and red algae.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about this curious sea.