of the gulf of akaba, the corals blossomed. the water here is heating up just like the rest of the world. consequence of climate change. but it hasn t affected the corals and researchers say it won t for another 100 years. so you have here both the current condition of the red sea and what it might look like in ten years, 20 years and beyond. exactly. so, this is what we re trying to understand, how the beautiful reefs that we see right now are likely to change, if at all, and the future conditions in the red sea. and from worldwide reefs we know that the situation right now is not that good. however, in the red sea it s still looking pretty good for reefs of the area. reporter: this may very well be the last reef refuge in terms of the present conditions. this red sea simulator tests different temperature levels and
it s still fragile. part of a much larger eco system near the booming resort towns of the gulf of akaba. it s an eco system that grew as a reef next to a complete desert. basically there is not supposed to be artificial life. there is not supposed to be a lot of development. we are allowing the development of a lot, but it has to be very slow. reporter: the reef is only 4 kilometers long, a tiny fraction of the 2000 kilometers of reef along the red sea. perhaps because it s so small, israel treats it as a national treasure. one that s far too valuable to let go. orrin liber man, cnn. incredible there. we are going to take a very short break. but we ll be back in just a moment. are finding themselves in a chevy for the first time.e you can too during the chevy labor day sales event. now through september 10th, use labor day cash to get almost $5,000 below msrp