Gulf Of Aqaba Research Articles

Quantifying microplastics pollution in the Red Sea and Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba: Insights from chemical analysis and pollution load assessment

Microplastics (MPs) constitute the majority of marine plastic litter. The pollution caused by MPs has been categorized as a gradual and persistent crisis, but little is known about its extent along the shores of the Red Sea, particularly on the Egyptian side. The Red Sea is a rapidly developing region and home to critical ecosystems with high levels of endemism. This study represents the first comprehensive survey investigating the extent of MP pollution along the Egyptian shores of the Red Sea, including the Gulf of Suez and Aqaba. Mean concentrations ranged from 23.3 ± 15.28 to 930.0 ± 181.9 MPs/kg DW. Out of 17 beaches surveyed, 12 had mean concentrations of <200 items/kg, indicating a low occurrence of MPs compared to the shores of the Mediterranean Coast of Egypt. The pollution load index varied from low to medium levels in most locations. Ras Mohamed, a marine protected area, showed high vulnerability to MP pollution. All the investigated particles were fragments of secondary MPs. The sources of pollution mainly come from maritime activities, including cargo shipping and intense recreational activities. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy identified four plastic polymers, with polyethylene and polypropylene being the most common. The surface morphology of plastic particles was examined using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. All the particles exhibited signs of degradation, which could generate countless plastic pieces with possible deleterious impacts. This work has highlighted the importance of conducting region-specific assessments of mismanaged plastic waste, focusing on the role of tourism and recreational navigation as contributors to plastic litter, to estimate plastic waste inputs into the waters of the Red Sea Coast of Egypt. Efforts are needed to develop strategic plans to reduce the disposal of plastic waste in the region.

Updating the seismotectonic setting for the Gulf of Aqaba

The Gulf of Aqaba is known for its high seismic activity in Egypt and the Middle East. An inversion technique was applied to 113 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 to 7.2 to distinct subsets of data based on tectonic regionalization to define the stress regime in the Gulf of Aqaba involving the Eilat basin, Aragonese basin, and Dakar basin. The stress inversion revealed two active stress patterns; an active strike-slip in the Eilat basin and a dominant extensional regime in the Dakar basin, whereas both strike-slip and extensional regimes coexist in the Aragonese basin. The stress pattern in the Eilat basin is consistent with the movement along the Dead Sea Transform Fault. In contrast, the extensional regime in the Dakar basin aligns with the extensional stress field throughout the northern Red Sea. The coexistence of two dominant types of stress regimes in the Aragonese basin is likely a result of the superposition of the two main neighbouring stress regimes: the strike-slip regime along the Gulf of Aqaba Dead Sea Transform Fault and the extensional stress state across the northern Red Sea. The orientations of the minimum principal stress in the three basins are almost similar, indicating ENE trending, nearly horizontal extension.

Renewable energy scenarios for water desalination and conveyance: Case of red sea-dead sea project

The objective of the Jordan Red Sea-Dead Sea (RSDS) project is to transport desalinated water from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Dead Sea. It aims to resolve two fundamental issues in Jordan: the lack of potable water in the country's center and the low water level in the Dead Sea. Desalinated seawater should be pumped from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Dead Sea as part of the RSDS project.This study is not only the first study to focus on the feasibility of using renewable energy sources to meet the project's energy needs, but the approach taken in this research is also novel. It employs a variety of software packages in order to accomplish the research goals. Thus, a number of operational scenarios for the RSDS project employing renewable energy technologies, as these resources are essential for sustainable development, are proposed. Based on the availability of renewable energy sources in the project region, only solar and wind technologies are included in the technology selection process. The selection of a suitable technology from renewable energy technologies was based on eight scenarios that were developed using several selection criteria. The social, technical, environmental, risk evaluation, and financial impact scenarios were investigated. Analytic hierarchy process and multi-criteria decision analysis were utilized to evaluate the electricity generation options for the project. The results indicated that the economic scenario is the optimal scenario for covering the entire load. Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) and payback period are sub-criteria for this scenario. The primary goal of this scenario is to cover the load with the lowest LCOE and shortest payback period possible. The results indicated that a 945 MW Photovoltaic plant and a 630 MW wind energy plant are required to cover the total loads for desalination and water pumping. Energy storage is essential in any scenario where renewable energy sources are used to meet demand. Electric vehicles are employed in this research as a kind of energy storage to lessen the demand for more traditional storage methods. The number of 85 kWh electric vehicles needed to replace traditional storage medium is estimated. It is determined that 53,614 and 57,584 electric vehicles in the 24 hour and 12 hour operating times, respectively, are required under the economic scenario.

A new deep-water species of Discias Rathbun, 1902 (Decapoda: Caridea: Disciadidae) from the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea.

A new species of the caridean shrimp genus Discias Rathbun, 1902 is described from the Gulf of Aqaba in the northern Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Discias forsskali sp. nov. is unique within the genus Discias, combining the following morphological features: (1) rostrum elongate, triangular, pointed distally, non-lanceolate, with serrations on the lateral margins extending onto the orbital margin; (2) posterodorsal margins of all pleonites smooth, unarmed; (3) mandible with well-developed, biarticulated palp; (4) dactylus of third to fifth pereiopods with row of spinules on ventral margin, dactylus of fifth pereiopod smooth dorsally; (5) uropodal exopod with straight, non-serrated lateral margin; and (6) posterior margin of telson with nine (four pairs + one) spiniform setae. The holotype and single known specimen of the new species, an ovigerous female, was collected by ROV at a depth of 387.4 m.

Temperature Calibration of Elevated Mg/Ca in Planktic Foraminifera Shells From the Hypersaline Gulf of Aqaba

AbstractThe Mg/Ca of marine calcareous Planktic Foraminifera (PF) shells is commonly used for sea surface temperature reconstructions. However, compared to open marine environments, hypersaline (&gt;40) oligotrophic seas have been shown to accommodate PF with higher Mg/Ca and divergent temperature to Mg/Ca relationships. To investigate influencing factors of PF Mg uptake in hypersaline regions, we measured the Mg/Ca of two flux‐dominating PF species, Globigerinoides ruber albus and Turborotalita clarkei, derived from a monthly resolved time series of sediment traps in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea as well as the corresponding temperature, salinity, and pH values. The PF exhibit elevated Mg/Ca which cannot be explained by post‐deposition or interstitial sediment diagenetic processes. G. ruber albus displays Mg/Ca trends that strongly follow seasonal mixed layer temperature changes. Conversely, T. clarkei Mg/Ca trends do not follow temperature but rather show significant Mg/Ca enrichment following mixing of the surface water column. We present a framework for incorporating elevated Mg/Ca into global Mg/Ca‐T calibrations for G. ruber albus and present a new Mg/Ca‐T calibration suitable for hypersaline marine environments.

Effects of anthropogenic pressures on the seagrass Halophila stipulacea and its associated macrozoobenthic communities in the northern Gulf of Aqaba

Halophila stipulacea is a tropical seagrass species, native to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean, while invasive to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. The benthic fauna assemblages associated with H. stipulacea in its native habitats and the potential effects of anthropogenic stressors on these assemblages remain unknown. We compared meadow characteristics, associated fauna assemblages and trophic niche structures of H. stipulacea from an impacted and a pristine site in the northern Red Sea. Seagrass cover and biomass were higher in the impacted site, however, the associated fauna community was more abundant and diverse in the pristine site. Both meadows showed comparable trophic niches based on stable isotope analysis. This study provides first insights into the macrozoobenthos associated with H. stipulacea in its native habitat and highlights the importance of better understanding the relationship between seagrasses and their associated biota and the potential effects of urbanization on this relationship.

On safe offshore energy exploration in the Gulf of Eilat

AbstractGulf of Eilat is rich with energy resources, however any industrial natural resource development requires additional safety, as local eco‐system has to be preserved. In contrast to bivariate reliability approaches, known to their accurate predictions of extreme response and load levels for two‐dimensional dynamic systems, this study suggests and validates novel structural reliability method, which is being appropriate method for high‐dimensional dynamic systems. Conventional reliability methods do not have an advantage of dealing easily with high‐dimensional nonlinear dynamic systems, especially with non‐linear cross‐correlations between different system components. Advocated approach does not have limitations on the system's number of degrees of freedom, and it can accurately assess dynamic system's failure risks. Main purpose of this study was to benchmark state‐of‐the‐art reliability methodology, while utilizing available dataset efficiently. Note that advocated approach is not limited to offshore engineering example, studied here, and it has wide range of potential engineering and design applications.

Seismicity and Fault Interaction in the Gulf of Aqaba

The Gulf of Aqaba is considered one of the most seismotectonically active regions in the Middle East. This study analyzes the seismic activity from 1983 to 2018 to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of the events in the Gulf’s three basins. The seismic activity is characterized by conventional mainshock–aftershock sequences and swarm activity. Most activity is located in the Aragonese basin, while the Dakar basin shows less seismic activity. The b-value was calculated for the three basins from the declustered catalogue, representing the fingerprint of the transform fault. Within the Aragonese, three significant earthquakes occurred in 1993, 1995, and 2015 with moment magnitude (Mw) of 5.8, 7.2, and 5.2, respectively. An intermediate seismic quiescence preceded the three earthquakes. The quiescence time for the 1995 earthquake began at the tail of the aftershocks of the 1993 mainshock, suggesting that the two earthquakes were not entirely independent. At the tail of the 1995 earthquake aftershocks, the seismic activity spread across the Gulf, increasing in frequency and decreasing in magnitude. A similar pattern was observed for the seismic quiescence preceding the 2015 mainshock. The occurrence of the three significant and proximal earthquakes in the Aragonese region over a 22-year interval, with the described similarities, suggests a link between these earthquakes. Finally, the Coulomb stress transfer shows that the 1993 source fault seems to increase the stress loading on the 1995 left-lateral strike-slip fault, and the latter would also increase the stress transfer on the 2015 left-lateral strike-slip fault.

Physiological and morphological plasticity in Stylophora pistillata larvae from Eilat, Israel, to shallow and mesophotic light conditions

Mesophotic reefs have been proposed as climate change refugia but are not synonymous ecosystems with shallow reefs and remain exposed to anthropogenic impacts. Planulae from the reef-building coral Stylophora pistillata, Gulf of Aqaba, from 5- and 45-m depth were tested ex situ for capacity to settle, grow, and acclimate to reciprocal light conditions. Skeletons were scanned by phase contrast-enhanced micro-CT to study morphology. Deep planulae had reduced volume, smaller diameter on settlement, and greater algal symbiont density. Light conditions did not have significant impact on settlement or mortality rates. Photosynthetic acclimation of algal symbionts was evident within 21-35days after settlement but growth rate and polyp development were slower for individuals translocated away from their parental origin compared to controls. Though our data reveal rapid symbiont acclimation, reduced growth rates and limited capacity for skeletal modification likely limit the potential for mesophotic larvae to settle on shallow reefs.

Daily timescale dynamics of planktonic foraminifera shell-size distributions

Planktonic foraminifera (PF) shells comprise a significant fraction of the global oceanic carbonate flux and serve as a primary archive of the history of the oceans. Yet, a limited understanding of their life cycles dynamics and biological rhythms, hampers their application as palaeoceanographic proxies. Here, we present the flux of ten PF species and their shell-size distributions at a daily timescale resolution in the Gulf of Aqaba (GOA), northern Red Sea. We report diameter measurements of ~13,500 shells, associated with ten PF species, retrieved using an automated time-series sediment trap deployed at a water depth of ~410 m (seafloor depth 610 m) throughout more than a full annual cycle between 2015 and 2016. Most of the PF species display a wide intraspecific shell-size distribution among adult PF, while six abundant species (G. ruber, G. rubescens + G. tenellus, G. glutinata, G. calida and G. siphonifera) display significantly smaller shell-sizes compared with corresponding specimens from sediment traps and seafloor sediments across other tropical, subtropical and upwelling regions. The results indicate that PF generation cycles can be classified according to three patterns: (1) Quiescent: minimal shell-size and extended life cycles due to unfavorable conditions and food scarcity when the water column is stratified and oligotrophic, (2) Transient: the gradual increase of Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations and food availability enhance shorter life-cycles, although PF do not necessarily reach maximal shell-sizes, (3) Successive: PF fluxes and Chl-a concentrations are maximal, the generation time is extended and individuals might display growth to maximal shell-sizes.

Geospatial Modeling Based-Multi-Criteria Decision-Making for Flash Flood Susceptibility Zonation in an Arid Area

Identifying areas susceptible to flash flood hazards is essential to mitigating their negative impacts, particularly in arid regions. For example, in southeastern Sinai, the Egyptian government seeks to develop its coastal areas along the Gulf of Aqaba to maximize its national economy while preserving sustainable development standards. The current study aims to map and predict flash flood prone areas utilizing a spatial analytic hierarchy process (AHP) that integrates GIS capabilities, remote sensing datasets, the NASA Giovanni web tool application, and principal component analysis (PCA). Nineteen flash flood triggering parameters were initially considered for developing the susceptibility model by conducting a detailed literature review and using our experiences in the flash food studies. Next, the PCA algorithm was utilized to reduce the subjective nature of the researchers’ judgments in selecting flash flood triggering factors. By reducing the dimensionality of the data, we eliminated ten explanatory variables, and only nine relatively less correlated factors were retained, which prevented the creation of an ill-structured model. Finally, the AHP method was utilized to determine the relative weights of the nine spatial factors based on their significance in triggering flash floods. The resulting weights were as follows: rainfall (RF = 0.310), slope (S = 0.221), drainage density (DD = 0.158), geology (G = 0.107), height above nearest drainage network (HAND = 0.074), landforms (LF = 0.051), Melton ruggedness number (MRN = 0.035), plan curvature (PnC = 0.022), and stream power index (SPI = 0.022). The current research proved that AHP, among the most dependable methods for multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), can effectively classify the degree of flash flood risk in ungauged arid areas. The study found that 59.2% of the area assessed was at very low and low risk of a flash flood, 21% was at very high and high risk, and 19.8% was at moderate risk. Using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC ROC) as a statistical evaluation metric, the GIS-based AHP model developed demonstrated excellent predictive accuracy, achieving a score of 91.6%.

Active and passive seismic methods for site characterization in Nuweiba, Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt

Nuweiba is located on the western coast of the Gulf of Aqaba (GoA), which represents the southern part of the Gulf of Aqaba - Dead Sea transform fault (GoA-DST). The GoA is characterized by high seismic activity and is the source of the November 22, 1995, Nuweiba earthquake, with a moment magnitude of Mw 7.3. This seismic unrest caused extensive damage in the city of Nuweiba due to the strong shaking caused by the earthquake. In addition, soil amplification triggered by the thick soft-sediments of the Wadi Watir delta beneath the city amplified the destructive power of the event. Therefore, an assessment of the effect of the Wadi Watir sediments on the ground motion at Nuweiba is very important for future construction, seismic hazard assessment, and seismic risk mitigation. Accordingly, the goal of the current study is to define the amplification characteristics of the Wadi Watir deposits using microtremor and surface wave data sets. The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique is applied to the microtremor data and Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) is applied to the surface wave data. The data are processed to obtain the distribution of the fundamental resonance frequency (F0), the depth of the geophysical bedrock using joint inversion of the Rayleigh wave dispersion curve and ellipticity peak, the shear wave velocity structure, the time-averaged shear-wave velocity in the topmost 30 m (Vs30), and the shear wave transfer function. The results of the HVSR show that F0 in the northern part of the city is 4.2–5.2 Hz and 0.5–0.8 Hz in the middle of the city. Bedrock depth is found to be in the range of 27 and 199 m. The one-dimensional velocity structure obtained from the MASW measurements has resolved two sedimentary layers within the upper 15 m. The Vs30 ranges between 207 and 556 m/s, according to the Vs30 the soil in the study area is categorized into soil classes B and C according to Eurocode 8. The obtained shear wave transfer functions show that the highest amplification factors are observed in the middle part of the study area.

Population Dynamics and Assessment of the Snubnose Emperor Lethrinus borbonicus (L. bungus) from the Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt

Population Dynamics and Assessment of the Snubnose Emperor Lethrinus borbonicus (L. bungus) from the Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt

From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region

IntroductionThe northern Red Sea has been coined a refuge for reef corals due to the exceptional thermal tolerance of these organisms. With ocean warming threatening coral reefs worldwide, a panoptic characterization of corals living in extreme conditions may provide insights into future responses of corals to environmental change. Among other factors, the genotype of the endosymbiotic algae in the family Symbiodiniaceae has been shown to have major implications on the distribution and resilience of their coral hosts. In this study, we aim at genotyping the Symbiodiniaceae communities associated with three depth generalist and one depth specialist coral species, characterized by the ability to withstand environmental conditions that are apparently limiting for other corals and occurring in a unique geographical region.MethodsWe sampled 50 corals from the northern Saudi Arabian Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, covering a 97 m bathymetric gradient. We used high-throughput ITS2 gene sequencing and recovered different patterns of host–algal associations.Results and discussionThe majority of the recovered algal genotypes appeared host- and environment-specific, while others were more widely distributed. At large, coral specimens were overwhelmingly associated with symbionts from the genus Cladocopium and specifically with many previously undescribed genotypes. This suggests the selection of specific genotypes, which might confer resistance and/or resilience to their host counterparts. Interestingly, we found a limited association with Durusdinium spp. and other known tolerant taxa in mesophotic corals in the northern Red Sea, but not in the Gulf of Aqaba. The broad absence of Durusdinium spp., typically ascribed to be stress tolerant, warrants further investigation into Symbiodiniaceae species that convey environmental resilience. Our data will serve as a baseline to explore the occurrence of specific symbionts that might be contributing to coral acclimation and adaptation and to assay how biodiversity might be impacted if subjected to increasing stressors.

An updated checklist of the Red Sea gobioid species (Teleostei: Gobiiformes), with four new records

An updated checklist and status assessment of the gobioid species (Gobiiformes) in the Red Sea is provided. Of the 162 species, 141 belong to the Gobiidae, nine to Microdesmidae, five to Xenisthmidae, six to Schindleriidae and one to Kraemeriidae. The Shrimpgoby (Cryptocentrus steinhardti) and the Sand Goby (Hazeus ingressus) are reported from Eilat, Israel and Abu Dabab, Marsa Alam, Egypt. Both species, which belong to Indo-West Pacific genera, were originally described from the eastern Mediterranean Sea and were unknown from the Red Sea so far. Records of these species are based on underwater photographs. Eviota pseudostigma, a species known from islands of the Western Indian Ocean, was photographed and collected from Mangrove Bay, El Quseir, Egypt, and represents a new record for the Red Sea. Eviota oculopiperita, described from the north-eastern Red Sea was found on the western side of the Red Sea. A new record of the microdesmid fish Gunnellichthys irideus, based on underwater photographs taken from the southern Egypt, is reported. Previous records of Paragobiodon echinocephalus from the Gulf of Aqaba are regarded as misidentification of P. modestus.

Minimum soak times of Baited Remote Underwater Video needed to assess the status of a coral reef fish community in the northern Gulf of Aqaba

Fishing pressure and other human impacts are increasing throughout much of the Red Sea. We assessed the minimum soak time and status of the coral reef fish community in the Aqaba Marine Park, Jordan prior to its official redesignation as a Marine Reserve in 2020 using baited remote underwater video (BRUV). A total of 86 species from 27 families were recorded in 15 deployments, comprising 60 hours of video. A minimum soak time of 150 minutes was found necessary to sufficiently estimate overall species richness. For richness of commercially valuable families, shorter soak times of 60 minutes were adequate, likely resulting from increased attraction of this largely piscivorous group to the bait plumes. A 30-minute soak time was adequate to assess the maxN of commercially valuable families. Our results indicate that the Aqaba Marine Reserve was overfished prior to its establishment as a reserve, as we recorded no large predators and not a single individual from Carcharhinidae, Haemulidae, Lutjanidae, or Scombridae. Other predator families like Epinephelinae, Lethrinidae, and Carangidae were relatively rare with low maxN. Our results provide a useful point of comparison to assess whether the coral reef fish community will recover as a result of enhanced management action and reduced fishing pressure.

Optimisation of Reverse-Osmosis Water Purification Plant Powered by Hydro-Generators at the Dead Sea

With the Jordan River as its main tributary, the Dead Sea is a hyper-saline lake, which was formed around 140 centuries ago. Climate change used to be the principal driver of water level changes. However, anthropogenic activities have recently emerged as a prominent source of excessive depletion. This study provides a realistic strategy for desalinating the Red Sea water whilst generating electrical power for the Dead Sea conveyance project. Seawater from the Gulf of Aqaba is transformed into highly concentrated saline water flowing to the Dead Sea whilst delivering purified drinking water to nearby regions using reverse osmosis plants. Being an energy-intensive process, a series of hydro-generators with efficient energy recovery devices will minimise the running cost by half.

How many valid Pleurosicya (Teleostei: Gobiidae) species are known from the Red Sea?

Four species of the gobiid genus Pleurosicya are reported from the Red Sea: P. bilobata, P. mossambica, P. plicata, and P. prognatha. Pleurosicya bilobata is reported as a new record for the Red Sea based on underwater photographs taken from a seagrass area at Dahab, Egypt, Gulf of Aqaba. A previous Red Sea record of P. micheli, a species occurring from Indonesia to French Polynesia, is based on a misidentification of P. mossambica and can be excluded as the Red Sea species. Phylogenetic COI barcode analysis showed that the genetic distance between Red Sea population and Western Indian Ocean specimens of P. mossambica is low, confirming the synonymy of P. sinaia, described from the Red Sea, with P. mossambica. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that specimens from the western Pacific under the name P. mossambica are genetically distinct and may represent an undescribed species. Brief descriptions accompanied with underwater photographs are provided for four species of Pleurosicya from the Red Sea.

Audio Magnetotelluric and Gravity Investigation of the High-Heat-Generating Granites of Midyan Terrane, Northwest Saudi Arabia

The Midyan Terrane (northwest Saudi Arabia) is characterized by the presence of a massive belt of radioactive granitic rocks and thick sedimentary cover near the coastal areas. The area is greatly influenced by the tectonic activities of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, implying its high potentiality of geothermal energy. In the present work, geophysical surveys, including audio magnetotelluric and gravity methods, were integrated to investigate the subsurface structural pattern of the study area, which identified regional deep and shallow fault systems and detected the subsurface geometry/extension of the granitic rocks as well as detecting the thickness of the sedimentary basins near the coastal area. A total number of 80 audio magnetotelluric and 246 gravity stations were recorded, analyzed, and interpreted. Two high-potential geothermal targets were indicated: high-heat-generating granites and thick anomalous sedimentary basins near the coastal areas. High-heat-generating granites are significant in terms of enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs) whereas sedimentary basins play a crucial role in the formation of conventional geothermal systems. Both areas require more exploration plans to evaluate the energy potential of geothermal reservoirs. The results also contribute to the identification of the subsurface orientation and geometry of radioactive granites, providing the necessary parameters to enhance a volumetric estimation for geothermal reserves.

Geothermal Imaging of the Saudi Cross-Border City of NEOM Deduced from Magnetic Data

The Saudi Arabia government announced the $500 billion mega project “NEOM City”, to build a cross-border mega city to connect Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordon for attracting foreign investments to the region. NEOM city is situated on the eastern region of the Gulf of Aqaba with its western side in the Sinai Peninsula. The selected site for NEOM city is geographically remarkable; nevertheless, this site needs a detailed geological and geophysical investigation. Sinai Peninsula is a microplate between the Arabian and African plates. Its southern tip is located at a triple junction comprising the Gulf of Aqaba–Dead Sea Transform fault, the Gulf of Suez, and the Red Sea, leading to relatively higher seismic activities in the region. The current study aims to understand the thermal structure of the vicinity of NEOM city to address the potential geohazards and indicate geological attractions within and around the planned city. We use the magnetic data from which geothermal images can be obtained. The preliminary results indicate that there is geologic similarity between the southern part of Sinai Peninsula and the northern part of the Arabian shield. This is because the Gulf of Aqaba separates what was once a continues Neoproterozoic crust. In addition, the magnetic data showed the presence of prominent lineaments on either side of the Gulf of Aqaba. The notable lineaments might represent faults that could still be active. Hence, selecting a site of NEOM city to be east of the Gulf of Aqaba needs to be guided by the careful understanding of the potential hazards. In addition, shallow Curie depths near the Gulf of Aqaba are recognized as a source for renewable geothermal energy.