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Saudi Specialist in Marine and Ocean Sciences

 Last updated on 31/08/2026
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Afrah Alothman Afrah Alothman

Saudi Specialist in Marine and Ocean Sciences

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Profile:

A Saudi specialist in marine and ocean sciences with more than 10 years of experience in field and laboratory research, focusing on marine and coastal ecosystem conservation, carbon storage across marine food webs, and carbon cycling from the North Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.

Contributed to several scientific studies related to the deep Red Sea, carbon cycling, and microbial production in marine environments. She also participated in the Decade Expedition to explore the Red Sea and is among the few Saudi women to have descended to a depth of 500 meters aboard a manned research submersible.

Currently serves as an Advanced Specialist in Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Conservation at the National Center for Wildlife, where she contributes to marine conservation programs, ecosystem monitoring, and biodiversity conservation initiatives supporting national sustainability priorities.

Has published a number of scientific studies in the fields of ocean sciences, carbon cycling, microbial production, the marine microbiome, and the effects of warming on marine ecosystems.

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Specialization:

Holds a PhD in Marine Science from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), awarded through the competitive KAUST Fellowship.

Holds a Master’s degree in Biology – Oceanography from Dalhousie University in Canada, under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Scholarship Program.
research

Selected Scientific Publications:

Alothman, A., López-Sandoval, D., Duarte, C. M., & Agustí, S. (2023). Bacterioplankton dark CO₂ fixation in oligotrophic waters. Biogeosciences, 20(17), 3613–3624.

Alothman, A., Duarte, C. M., Qurban, M. A., & Agustí, S. (2025). Flow of heterotrophic production in oligotrophic ocean waters. Frontiers in Microbiology, 16, 1530627.

Alothman, A., Emwas, A. H., Singh, U., Jaremko, M., & Agusti, S. (2024). Metabolomics-based analysis of the diatom Cheatoceros tenuissimus combining NMR and GC–MS techniques. MethodsX, 12, 102695.

Agusti, S., Alothman, A., Jin, P., Stanschewski, C. S., Díaz-Rúa, R., Emwas, A. H., ... & Jaremko, M. (2025). Host metabolite production and microbiome dynamics: effects of long-term diatom adaptation to warming. ISME Communications, 5(1), ycaf103.

Alothman, A. A. (2024). Microbiome carbon production and flux in tropical and oligotrophic waters of the Red Sea.

Alothman, A. (2019). The Importance of Osmo-mixotrophy in the Nutrition of the Diatom Thalassiosira oceanica Under Iron Limitation.

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