UJ conducts 65% of scientific projects on OceanXplorer

AMMAN — Scientists and researchers from the two branches of the University of Jordan (UJ) in Amman and Aqaba have implemented some 65 per cent of scientific projects on OceanXplorer, an exploration, research and media production vessel owned by OceanX, to explore the Gulf of Aqaba that hosts the last coral reefs on earth. 

OceanX is an international organisation specialised in the scientific exploration of oceans and marine life. 

A total of 20 projects were conducted via OceanXplorer, including seven by UJ’s Aqaba branch, four by the marine sciences station, two by the UJ Amman’s faculty of science, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The other projects were carried out by the Jordan University for Science and Technology, Yarmouk University, the German-Jordanian University, Lausanne Federal Research Centre in Switzerland and the University of Konstanz of Germany. 

UJ President Nathir Obeidat said that the mission conducted “unprecedented” scientific research with cutting edge technologies to explore the characteristics and depths of the Gulf of Aqaba as part of endeavours to establish an international centre for sciences and the Aqaba Marine Reserve.

OceanX, in cooperation with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), on June 8 began its first expedition in Aqaba, to protect the Kingdom’s marine life.

Over three weeks, the mission, including Jordanian and non-Jordanian scholars working with the staff of OceanX, has been studying deep-water biodiversity and the region’s coral reef systems to understand why they are more resilient to climate change there than anywhere else on the planet, to learn how to preserve coral reefs worldwide. 

The mission will also work on mapping coral reef spots and deep-sea sites in the Gulf of Aqaba.