Satellite images show a blue line running from the north to the south of the Red Sea. The sea's famous name can be seen in the intense blueness of the water, which is stark contrast to the brown surrounding landscape. There isn't anything red about the Red Sea.

What happened to the Red Sea's name?

"I don't think anyone knows how it got its name," said an associate professor of marine and atmospheric sciences. She said that it's possible that the answer might have to do with thealgae. The blue-green algae group is responsible for between 60% and 80% of nitrogen conversion in the ocean, according to NASA.

There are a lot of giants in the sea.

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T. erythraeum is found in many of the world's oceans. There is a rapid growth of the population in the Red Sea which causes periodic blooms. As the dying algae spread across the sea's surface, the water took on a reddish-brown hue.

This is a satellite view of Middle East, with Saudi Arabia in the center.

The Red Sea is sandwiched between Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea to the left and Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the right. (Image credit: InterNetwork Media via Getty Images)

Kleinhaus said it's possible that the Red Sea is named after the red mountains that line part of the shoreline.

The Red Sea is more than just a name. The Red Sea is home to many endemic animals that are only found in the gulf of ada

The Red Sea is sandwiched between Arabia and Africa. It goes from the Gulf of Suez in the north to the Gulf of Aden in the south and finally connects with the Indian Ocean. The Red Sea has a maximum width of 190 miles and a maximum depth of over 10,000 feet. The area is 174,000 square miles.

One of the longest coral reefs in the world is in the Red Sea. A rich diversity of marine life can be found there. One of the world's only marine refuges from climate change can be found at the reef.

The corals that reached there at the end of the last ice age were the only ones that could tolerate high temperatures and salty water. They are one of the last coral reefs to survive this century and are currently living below their maximum temperatures.

Kleinhaus said that the Red Sea was formed by the splitting of the Arabian and African plates. She said that the sea is a growing one.

Additional resources

Bibliography

The NASA Earth Observatory has a picture of a bloom of Nitrogen-Fixingbacteria.

"Red Sea" can be found at www.britannica.com/place/Red-Sea.

The original article was published on Live Science in September of 2012