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​The Marine Science Station (MSS) was founded in mid 1970s. The main objectives of establishing the MSS were to create a marine research facility for scientist and post graduate students of the two Jordanian Universities that existed at that time; the University of Jordan and Yarmouk University, and to provide a haven for international scientists interested in studying the tropical-subtropical marine ecosystem. The Gulf of Aqaba with its unique characteristics provides an ideal oceanic model for such studies. All visiting researchers are individually warmly welcome by the director, researchers and the staff of the MSS. The present MSS campus is located at the beautiful eastern coast of the northernmost end of the Gulf of Aqaba, about 10 km south of Aqaba Town. The public aquarium of the station attracts thousand of school students, tourists, official visiting groups and Jordanian citizens. The MSS is in fact the Northern Gate of the Gulf of Aqaba Marine Park. Within its boundaries exist a wide variety of benthic habitats and communities, including rock and sandy beaches, seagrass beds, excellent back reef lagoon, and a well developed coral reef complex comprised of numerous coral colonies and associated marine species. Due to the uniqueness and importance of these living communities, the MSS beaches and coral reef have been declared as the first Marine Nature Reserve in the Gulf of Aqaba, with access restricted except for scientists. Responsibilities of the MSS towards the two mother Universities, the local society and human knowledge have increased significantly with time. Research types and interest at the MSS have also developed remarkably. At the beginning, when the MSS was newly established, more monitoring, survey work and basic research took place. This at that time was both useful and necessary. The main outcome was defining baseline characteristics of the Jordanian coast of the Gulf of Aqaba and in a broader since of the entire Gulf. In a second phase of progress the MSS concentrated on some applied aspects of coastal research. Development of mariculture technology of some economically valuable species, the suitability of these species to the conditions of the Gulf of Aqaba and the environmental constraints were the main focus. The main outcome of this line of research was that although some species proved suitable for mariculture in the Gulf of Aqaba at a commercial scale, the environmental threat of such venture would make it unfavorable. Consequently Jordan has decided strategically not to permit floating cage mariculture in the Jordanian waters. More recently the MSS has focused on ecosystem studies, particularly the coral reef ecosystem, to provide an integrated understanding of the ecosystem functioning that enables adopting suitable management schemes to optimize the benefits of the scares Jordanian coastal resources and yet preserve them for the future generations as a part of our valuable human heritage. In the capacity of the (MSS) as a research facility, It has lead and participated in several research projects funded by national and international sources. One of the most important research projects was the International Red Sea Program (RSP), 1995-2000, funded by the German Government and joined in addition to Germany, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Jordan. The outcome of the RSP was not only good science and collaboration with international institutions during the age of the program, but also establishing firm and sustainable links with many of the institutions that participated in the program. Most profound is the MSS collaboration with the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Bremen (ZMT), where the secretariat of RSP existed. The MSS-ZMT collaboration is continuously increasing. Both institutions have succeeded to win jointly several projects after RSP. One of the recent projects that the MSS and ZMT are conducting is the environmentally friendly aquaculture of ornamentals and aquarium species, funded also by the German government, but this time in partnership with Jordan Universities. Research funds and the private sector. The project has benefited from all previous experience in aquaculture research and adhered strongly to the strategic planning of conservation of the coral reef ecosystem. We are currently preparing for a networking project with the International Contact Office at the ZMT, where the MSS will serve as a node in an International network of tropical marine research centers for the Middle East, Arabian Gulf and North Africa.

  

​The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water.

The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning "inland" or "in the middle of land" (from medius, "middle" and terra, "land"). It covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2 (965,000 sq mi), but its connection to the Atlantic (the Strait of Gibraltar) is only 14 km (8.7 mi) wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.
The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia, and in the south by Africa. It is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, on the southwestern coast of Turkey, is approximately 4,000 km (2,500 miles). The sea's average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km (500 miles). The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara (connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea), has a surface area of approximately 2,510,000 square km (970,000 square miles).
The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region. The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies.
The countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. In addition, Palestine's Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea.
  

​A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students, or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizational activities, representation, and academic support of the membership.

In the United States, student union many times only refers to a physical building owned by the university with the purpose to provide services for students without a governing body also referred to as a student activity center, although the Association of College Unions International (largely US-based) has hundreds of campus organizational members). Outside the US, student union and students' union refer to a representative body, as distinct from a student activity centre.