April 28, 2021
UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA & UC SAN DIEGO
OPEN MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH STATION
On April 20, a team of U.S. and Israeli archaeologists inaugurated a new field station in the Mediterranean coastal town of Akko (historically known as Acre) in northwestern Israel. The virtual opening ceremony unveiled the joint University of Haifa-University of California San Diego Marine Archaeology Research Station. Watch video

A Yahoo Finance article notes that in recognition of work to reshape archaeological studies, the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology at UC San Diego and the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa are being awarded the 2021 CENIC Innovations in Networking Award for Research Applications.
UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA LEADS UNIQUE STUDY
TO COMMUNICATE WITH WHALES
In a joint five-year interdisciplinary research study with Harvard, MIT, Imperial College London, UC, Berkeley and City University of New York, marine scientists hope to decipher how sperm whales speak to each other and if the speech patterns can be replicated so humans can communicate with them.

At a recent press conference held in Dominica in the Caribbean, where the project will take place, researchers revealed plans for what they are calling the Cetacean Translation Initiative.
DELVING INTO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ISRAEL'S SEA
Dado Beach, Haifa
Much of the public attention surrounding Israel, both within the country and internationally, focuses on the land. Yet the sea plays a significant and unsung role in the development of the State, according to Professor Ilana Berman-Frank, director of the University of Haifa’s Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences.
 
"For years, it has been viewed as a shipping route, a source for marine resources, a beachside resort, even a possible garbage dump", says Professor Berman-Frank. She stresses the role of the sea in the development of the State of Israel. "Most importantly, today the Mediterranean Sea is [Israel's] primary source of drinking water and an increasingly important food source, not only for fish but also for cheap protein alternatives to terrestrial resources." read more
ADDRESSING MARINE POLLUTION
As Israel's leading university in Marine Sciences, the University of Haifa is planning the following new projects to help identify and combat marine pollution in the eastern Mediterranean Sea:

  • using marine microorganisms as bio-sensors for environmental pollution to identify and monitor dangerous chemical and organic pollutants in the sea by using natural communities of bio organisms as bio sensors;
  • using the SPARUS autonomous underwater vehicle to map and photograph the sea bed to identify tar/oil spills by mapping sea bed photos to recognize immediate and accumulated pollution damage;
  • adding a southern Buoy where there is current pollution as well as adding sensors to monitor oil and petroleum spills, allowing for immediate response before pollution hits the Israeli shoreline;
  • providing a set of strong biological markers for chronic pollution along the shoreline by monitoring the microbial population in sediments as an indicator for chronic sea pollution and developing pollution indicators;
  • evaluating the damage of pollutants on marine life, and
  • characterizing and monitoring the Israeli marine expanse through data acquisition, satellite/remote sensing and other analyses.

For further information on any of these projects,
please contact us at 416.972.9400 info@haifa-univ.ca