CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA), a global marine environmental consulting firm, today revealed details of an exciting scientific discovery involving CSA field teams, one that has since triggered subsequent investigation among faculty members at Tel Aviv University and collaborating partners in the region. The discovery was made possible through environmental data collected in collaboration with Chevron Mediterranean Limited, operator of the Leviathan platform, and its partners NewMed Energy and Ratio Energies.

During an annual environmental monitoring survey of the waters surrounding the Leviathan Production Platform, an offshore natural gas platform located in the Mediterranean Sea, an unexpected phenomenon was observed: numerous colonies of the soft coral species Dendronephthya hemprichi—native to the coral reefs of the Red Sea—were discovered growing on the platform’s subsea structures at depths of up to 30 meters.

Following this exciting finding, renowned marine biologists Dr. Tom Shlesinger (from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History) and Prof. Yehuda Benayahu (from the School of Zoology) initiated a collaborative research program to further investigate the discovery.

The research will be led by a master’s student under the guidance of the researchers, in partnership with Chevron Mediterranean Limited’s (operator of the Leviathan Production Platform) on-platform team and operational vessel, as well as project partners NewMed Energy and Ratio Energies.

The ongoing study will include periodic underwater visual surveys and the collection of coral samples for in-depth study of their reproductive biology and their dispersal capabilities in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Leviathan partnership remains committed to operating responsibly, transparently, and in collaboration with the academic and scientific community in Israel.

CSA is proud to have continually provided environmental monitoring services around the Leviathan Production Platform for the past 5 years, and is particularly grateful to Elad Mills, CEO of CSA Israel, for both his ongoing management of operations in the region and his efforts in actioning the next steps for scientific investigation, which included establishing the ongoing collaboration between Chevron and Tel-Aviv University.

Parties interested in learning more about the initial discovery can access the following scientific paper, A dramatic northward range expansion of a Red Sea soft coral in the Mediterranean Sea, and examine exclusive underwater footage of the coral colonies here.