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EILAT, ISRAEL - JULY 13: Prof Tali Mass from the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, clean sea water droplets inside the FIRe instrument using isopropanol and cotton swabs at The Interuniversity Institute (IUI) for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel. FIRe (Fluorescence Induction and Relaxation) instrument started collecting moisture inside during one of the dives and was immediately brought back to the surface. FIRe is the latest in bio-optical technology, measuring variable chlorophyll fluorescence in photosynthetic organisms, in this instance of corals during a week of research diving led by Dr Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley, the Director of Research at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute and Prof Tali Mass from the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, investigating corals adaptation to the depth gradient at The Interuniversity Institute (IUI) for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel. There are only three underwater instruments like that in the world. Despite sea temperatures rising faster in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba than the global average rate, the coral reef of the northernmost point of the Red Sea exhibit remarkable resilience and seem immune to the effects of global warming. Scientists are trying to understand the biological capacity of these corals to live at higher temperatures, hoping this knowledge could help reefs elsewhere in the world. The scientific community estimates that over 90% of reefs will die by 2050 due to climate change and direct human impact. The Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba corals might be one of the last remaining complete ecosystems by 2100. However, there's a glimmer of hope that this surviving coral reef could be used as a blueprint for an entirely new climate-resilient ecosystem. (Photo by Lukasz Larsson Warzecha/Getty Images).
EILAT, ISRAEL - JULY 13: Prof Tali Mass from the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, clean sea water droplets inside the FIRe instrument using isopropanol and cotton swabs at The Interuniversity Institute (IUI) for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel. FIRe (Fluorescence Induction and Relaxation) instrument started collecting moisture inside during one of the dives and was immediately brought back to the surface. FIRe is the latest in bio-optical technology, measuring variable chlorophyll fluorescence in photosynthetic organisms, in this instance of corals during a week of research diving led by Dr Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley, the Director of Research at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute and Prof Tali Mass from the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, investigating corals adaptation to the depth gradient at The Interuniversity Institute (IUI) for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel. There are only three underwater instruments like that in the world. Despite sea temperatures rising faster in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba than the global average rate, the coral reef of the northernmost point of the Red Sea exhibit remarkable resilience and seem immune to the effects of global warming. Scientists are trying to understand the biological capacity of these corals to live at higher temperatures, hoping this knowledge could help reefs elsewhere in the world. The scientific community estimates that over 90% of reefs will die by 2050 due to climate change and direct human impact. The Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba corals might be one of the last remaining complete ecosystems by 2100. However, there's a glimmer of hope that this surviving coral reef could be used as a blueprint for an entirely new climate-resilient ecosystem. (Photo by Lukasz Larsson Warzecha/Getty Images).