Highest concentration of deep-sea brine pools

Brine pools are lakes of hypersaline, anoxic (oxygen-lacking) lakes that form on the seafloor, their high salt content making them denser than the surrounding ocean. There are at least 25 complexes of brine pools located in the Red Sea – more than any other location on Earth.

Found only in 2020, the most recently discovered brine pools in the Red Sea are the NEOM Brine Pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, as announced in Communications Earth & Environment on 29 June 2022 in a study led by the University of Miami, Florida (USA). The NEOM pools are situated at a depth of 1,770 m (5,807 ft) and only 2 km (1.25 mi) from the coast of Saudi Arabia – a record in terms of brine pool proximity to land. The largest of the group of salty lakes was 260 m (853 ft) long, 70 m (230 ft) wide with an area of approximately 10,000 km2 (3,861 sq mi).

Currently the only other locations known to host deep-sea brine pools are the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea.

The deepest-known brine pool lies in the Orca Basin in the Gulf of Mexico, some 2,200 m (7,200 ft) below sea level. This 7 x 21 km (4 x 13 mi) depression is filled with water that has a salt content of around 300 g/litre (48 oz per gallon), around eight times saltier than the Gulf itself.