RIYADH: Researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology joined the Saudi non-profit foundation OceanQuest on its first marine expedition around Africa aboard the research vessel OceanXplorer.
The mission began in Moroni, Comoros, with the team sailing south through the Indian Ocean to Cape Town, South Africa.
Researchers focused on assessing biodiversity at several seamounts — underwater mountain formations.
A second phase, designed for early-career oceanographers, proceeded north to Walvis Bay in Namibia before concluding scientific operations in Mindelo, Cabo Verde.
The KAUST research team, comprising two PhD candidates from the Marine Microbiome Lab and one from Earth Science and Engineering, conducted research in biodiversity assessment, seamount studies and chemical analysis.
The team compared seamount formation in the Indian Ocean with similar geological phenomena in Saudi waters.
