About
I am a marine geoscientist and deep-sea researcher, with a joint appointment in the Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences and the Maurice Hatter Department of Marine Technologies. I head the University of Haifa Deep-Sea Research and Subsea Vehicles Facility, which is the national resource for academic deep-sea AUV and ROV operations. My research group, the Applied Marine Exploration Laboratory (AMEL), focuses on developing and integrating advanced geophysical, acoustic, and subsea technologies and methods to study geological and active-seafloor processes and their interplay with climate changes, marine habitats and conservation, geological hazards, and offshore sustainable development. Our work combines pure and applied research, together with commercial and societal projects. In addition, I am the University of Haifa's delegate in the national Mediterranean Sea Research Center of Israel (MERCI) consortium.
Publications
- Rapid cooling of magma-rich margins exemplified by the Eastern North American Margin, Lang, G., ten Brink, U. S. & Makovsky, Y., Dec 2026, In: Communications Earth and Environment. 7, 1, 548.
- Multiscale species distribution models reveal seascape niche partitioning and overlap in native and alien fishes, Sørensen, O. J. R., Makovsky, Y., Pittman, S. J., van Rijn, I., Einbinder, S., Berkström, C., Arlé, E. & Tchernov, D., Aug 2026, In: Landscape Ecology. 41, 8, 133.
- Evaluating the possible role of bottom currents and internal waves in shaping seafloor morphology in a mesophotic reef, Bialik, O. M., Wilckens, H., Gadol, O., Micallef, A., Betzler, C., Sørensen, O. J. R., Nativ, H. & Makovsky, Y., Apr 2026, In: Sedimentology. 73, 3, p. 593-619 27 p.
- Millennial-scale phased submarine retrogressive collapse of the owl slide complex, Gadol, O., Katz, O., Kanari, M. & Makovsky, Y., 1 Nov 2025, In: Geomorphology. 488, 109973.
- Oligocene—Miocene Tectono-Stratigraphic Development of the Southern Levant Basin, Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Joffe, A., Bell, R. E., Steinberg, J., Jackson, C. A. L. & Makovsky, Y., 1 Nov 2025, In: Basin Research. 37, 6, e70075.
- Lessons learned by addressing challenges to deep-sea conservation planning in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea: linking science to practice, Shabtay, A., Rothschild, A., Makovsky, Y., Neuman, A., Bialik, O., Goren, L., Idan, T., Slavenko, A., Salingré, S., Buba, Y., Guy-Haim, T., Herut, B., Stern, N., Gertman, I., Gilboa, M., Gal, G., Ofir, E., Rubin Blum, M., Berenshtein, I. & Amir, D. & 4 others, , Aug 2025, In: Ocean and Coastal Management. 267, 107700.
- Bridging the gap in deep seafloor management: Ultra fine-scale ecological habitat characterization of large seascapes, Sørensen, O. J. R., van Rijn, I., Einbinder, S., Nativ, H., Scheinin, A., Zemah-Shamir, Z., Bigal, E., Livne, L., Tsemel, A., Bialik, O. M., Papeer, G., Tchernov, D. & Makovsky, Y., Aug 2025, In: Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. 11, 4, p. 472-489 18 p.
- How strong was Goliath? Geomechanical characterization of the submarine Goliath slide, Pinkert, S., Bar-Zvi, L., Makovsky, Y. & Bookman, R., Jun 2025, In: Landslides. 22, 6, p. 1841-1853 13 p.
- Animal burrowing at cold seep ecotones boosts productivity by linking macromolecule turnover with chemosynthesis and nutrient cycling, Rubin-Blum, M., Rahav, E., Sisma-Ventura, G., Yudkovski, Y., Harbuzov, Z., Bialik, O. M., Ezra, O., Foubert, A., Herut, B. & Makovsky, Y., 10 Mar 2025, In: Biogeosciences. 22, 5, p. 1321-1340 20 p.
- Shark eggs contribute to the trophic ecology of a cold-seep chemosynthetic ecosystem, Zvi-Kedem, T., Martinez, S., Shemesh, E., Lalzar, M., Guy-Haim, T., Sisma-Ventura, G., Makovsky, Y., Tchernov, D. & Rubin-Blum, M., 2025, In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. 756, p. 71-81 11 p.
- מערכת אקולוגית ייחודית של נביעות גז ותמלחות בהפרעת פלמחים, הים העמוק באגן הלבנט, רובין-בלום, מ., חרות, ב. & מקובסקי, י., 2025, הוד הים: איתנות ותמורות במערכות הימיות של ישראל. סטמבלר, נ. (ed.). חיפה: העמותה הישראלית למדעי הימים, p. 349-364 16 p.
- Oviparous Catsharks Accumulate Mercury in Deep-Sea Brine Pool Nurseries, Sisma-Ventura, G., Herut, B., Segal, Y., Stern, N., Makovsky, Y. & Rubin-Blum, M., 8 Oct 2024, In: Environmental Science and Technology Letters. 11, 10, p. 1103-1109 7 p.
- Active microbial communities facilitate carbon turnover in brine pools found in the deep Southeastern Mediterranean Sea, Rubin-Blum, M., Makovsky, Y., Rahav, E., Belkin, N., Antler, G., Sisma-Ventura, G. & Herut, B., Jun 2024, In: Marine Environmental Research. 198, 106497.
- Occurrence and Genesis of Cold-Seep Authigenic Carbonates from the South-Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Weidlich, R., Bialik, O. M., Rüggeberg, A., Grobéty, B., Vennemann, T., Neuman, A., Makovsky, Y. & Foubert, A., Nov 2023, In: Depositional Record. 9, 4, p. 844-870 27 p.
- Drainage Mechanisms of Submerged Sinkholes, Tsabar, A., Shalev, E., Sagy, A. & Makovsky, Y., Sep 2023, In: Remote Sensing. 15, 18, 4384.
- The Heliconoides Modified Dissolution Index-HMDI: Do methane seepage environments affect the preservation state of Heliconoides inflatus?, Beccari, V., Almogi-Labin, A., Basso, D., Panieri, G., Makovsky, Y., Neururer, C., Hajdas, I. & Spezzaferri, S., Aug 2023, In: Ecological Indicators. 152, 110380.
- Modes of gas migration and seepage on the salt-rooted Palmahim Disturbance, southeastern Mediterranean, Lawal, M. A., Bialik, O. M., Lazar, M., Waldmann, N. D., Foubert, A. & Makovsky, Y., Jul 2023, In: Marine and Petroleum Geology. 153, 106256.
- Origin and kinematics of a basin-scale, non-polygonal, layer-bound normal fault system in the Levant Basin, eastern Mediterranean, Joffe, A., Jackson, C. A. L., Steinberg, J., Bell, R. E. & Makovsky, Y., Apr 2023, In: Basin Research. 35, 2, p. 662-691 30 p.
- Late Holocene pteropod distribution across the base of the south-eastern Mediterranean margin: the importance of the > 63 μm fraction, Beccari, V., Almogi-Labin, A., Basso, D., Panieri, G., Makovsky, Y., Hajdas, I. & Spezzaferri, S., 17 Mar 2023, In: Journal of Micropalaeontology. 42, 1, p. 13-29 17 p.
- Characterization of blocks within a near seafloor Neogene MTC, Orange Basin: Constraints from a high-resolution 3D seismic data, Amaechi, P. O., Waldmann, N. D., Makovsky, Y. & Opuwari, M., Feb 2023, In: Sedimentary Geology. 444, 106319.
- Using multilevel composition to map rare seafloor gas-seepage habitats of the Palmahim disturbance, southeastern Mediterranean Sea, Lawal, M., Findlay, R., Bialik, O., Neuman, A., Waldermann, N. & Makovsky, Y., 2023, 29th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, Held at Near Surface Geoscience Conference and Exhibition 2023, NSG 2023. European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, EAGE, (29th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, Held at Near Surface Geoscience Conference and Exhibition 2023, NSG 2023).
- Trends in organic matter deposition in the Cretaceous of the eastern Mediterranean: Revisiting and updating the chronology and facies of the Eratosthenes Seamount deposits, Meilijson, A., Ashckenazi-Polivoda, S., Coletti, G., Steinberg, J. & Makovsky, Y., Jan 2023, In: Cretaceous Research. 141, 105356.
- Multilevel Composition: A new method for revealing complex geological features in three-dimensional seismic reflection data, Lawal, M. A., Pecher, I., Bialik, O. M., Waldmann, N. D., Bialas, J., Koren, Z. & Makovsky, Y., Dec 2022, In: Marine and Petroleum Geology. 146, 105938.
- Virtual Sea-Drifting Experiments between the Island of Cyprus and the Surrounding Mainland in the Early Prehistoric Eastern Mediterranean, Kyriakidis, P., Moutsiou, T., Nikolaidis, A., Reepmeyer, C., Leventis, G., Demesticha, S., Akylas, E., Kassianidou, V., Michailides, C., Zomeni, Z., Bar-Yosef Mayer, D. E., Makovsky, Y. & McCartney, C., Dec 2022, In: Heritage. 5, 4, p. 3081-3099 19 p.
- Discovery and chemical composition of the eastmost deep-sea anoxic brine pools in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Herut, B., Rubin-Blum, M., Sisma-Ventura, G., Jacobson, Y., Bialik, O. M., Ozer, T., Lawal, M. A., Giladi, A., Kanari, M., Antler, G. & Makovsky, Y., 17 Nov 2022, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 9, 1040681.
- Late Paleocene to middle Eocene carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Northern Negev, Southern Israel: potential for paleoclimate reconstructions, Fokkema, C. D., Buijs, S., Bialik, O. M., Meilijson, A., Waldmann, N. D., Makovsky, Y., Frieling, J., Dickens, G. R. & Sluijs, A., Jun 2022, In: Newsletters on Stratigraphy. 55, 3, p. 361-384 24 p.
- When did Goliath collapse? Dating the recent events of a major submarine slide complex, Southeastern Mediterranean margin, Elad, M., Gadol, O., Makovsky, Y., Almogi-Labin, A., Boaretto, E. & Bookman, R., May 2022, In: Sedimentary Geology. 433, 106123.
- Cold seeps alter the near-bottom biogeochemistry in the ultraoligotrophic Southeastern Mediterranean Sea, Sisma-Ventura, G., Bialik, O. M., Makovsky, Y., Rahav, E., Ozer, T., Kanari, M., Marmen, S., Belkin, N., Guy-Haim, T., Antler, G., Herut, B. & Rubin-Blum, M., May 2022, In: Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 183, 103744.
- Evolution of a Miocene canyon and its carbonate fill in the pre-evaporitic eastern Mediterranean, Reolid, J., Bialik, O. M., Puga-Bernabéu, Zilberman, E., Cardenal, J. & Makovsky, Y., Apr 2022, In: Facies. 68, 2, 6.
- Benthic foraminifera as indicators of recent mixed turbidite-contourite sediment transport system in the Eastern Mediterranean upper continental slope, offshore Israel, Ashkenazi, L., Katz, O., Abramovich, S., Almogi-Labin, A., Makovsky, Y., Gadol, O., Kanari, M., Masque, P. & Hyams-Kaphzan, O., Mar 2022, In: Marine Geology. 445, 106756.
- Uranium-thorium isotope systematics of cold-seep carbonate and their constraints on geological methane leakage activities, Wang, M., Chen, T., Feng, D., Zhang, X., Li, T., Robinson, L. F., Liang, Q., Bialik, O. M., Liu, Y. & Makovsky, Y., 1 Mar 2022, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 320, p. 105-121 17 p.
- In and Out of the Salt: How to Overcome Stratigraphic Uncertainty in Evaporitic Systems? A Case Study from the MSC in the Deep Levant Basin, Meilijson, A., Liu, J. & Makovsky, Y., 2022, Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation. Springer Nature, p. 213-216 4 p. (Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation; no. 978-3-030-72546-4).
- Petroleum Potential of Cretaceous Source Rocks in the Levant Basin, Meilijson, A., Finkelman, E., Ashckenazi-Polivoda, S., Garrett Boudinot, F., Bialik, O. M., Coletti, G., Steinberg, J., Karcz, K., Waldmann, N. D., Sepúlveda, J. & Makovsky, Y., 1 Jan 2022, Advances in Geophysics, Tectonics and Petroleum Geosciences - Proceedings of the 2nd Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences CAJG-2, Tunisia 2019. Meghraoui, M., Sundararajan, N., Banerjee, S., Hinzen, K.-G., Eshagh, M., Roure, F., Chaminé, H. I., Maouche, S. & Michard, A. (eds.). Springer Nature, p. 379-381 3 p. (Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation).
- Massive seafloor mounds depict potential for seafloor mineral deposits in the Great South Basin (GSB) offshore New Zealand, Olakunle, O. K., Ajibola, L. M., Muhammad, I. H. & Makovsky, Y., Dec 2021, In: Scientific Reports. 11, 1, 9185.
- Geoacoustic estimation of the seafloor sound speed profile in deep passive margin setting using standard multichannel seismic data, Uzhansky, E., Gadol, O., Lang, G., Katsnelson, B., Copel, S., Kazaz, T. & Makovsky, Y., Dec 2021, In: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 9, 12, 1423.
- Using a kilometers-long horizontal multichannel array for estimating seafloor sound speed in a passive margin setting, Uzhansky, E., Gadol, O., Lang, G., Katsnelson, B., Copel, S., Kazaz, T. & Makovsky, Y., 20 Jun 2021, In: Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics. 44, 1, 005002.
- Significance to hydrocarbon exploration of terrestrial organic matter introduced into deep marine systems: Insights from the Lower Cretaceous in the Levant Basin, Meilijson, A., Finkelman-Torgeman, E., Bialik, O. M., Boudinot, F. G., Steinberg, J., Karcz, Z., Waldmann, N. D., Benjamini, C., Vinegar, H. & Makovsky, Y., Dec 2020, In: Marine and Petroleum Geology. 122, 104671.
- High frequency full-waveform inversion with deep learning for seismic and medical ultrasound imaging, Feigin, M., Makovsky, Y., Freedman, D. & Anthony, B. W., 2020, SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2020. p. 3492-3496 5 p. (SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts).
- Late-Pleistocene evolution of the continental shelf of central Israel, a case study from Hadera, Shtienberg, G., Dix, J., Waldmann, N., Makovsky, Y., Golan, A. & Sivan, D., 15 May 2016, In: Geomorphology. 261, p. 200-211 12 p.
- Seismic geomorphology of the Israel slump complex in the Levant Basin (SE Mediterranean), Eruteya, O. E., Safadi, M., Waldmann, N., Makovsky, Y. & Ben-Avraham, Z., 2016, Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research. Springer Netherlands, p. 39-47 9 p. (Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research; vol. 41).
- Quaternary tectonic evolution of the Northern Gulf of Elat/Aqaba along the Dead Sea Transform, Hartman, G., Niemi, T. M., Tibor, G., Ben-Avraham, Z., Al-Zoubi, A., Makovsky, Y., Akawwi, E., Abueladas, A. R. & Al-Ruzouq, R., Dec 2014, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 119, 12, p. 9183-9205 23 p.
- Seafloor pockmarks, deepwater corals, and cold seeps along the continental margin of Israel, Coleman, D., Austin Jr., J. A., Ben-Avraham, Z., Makovsky, Y. & Tchernov, D., 2012, In: Oceanography. 25, 1, p. 41-44
- Measuring the seismic properties of Tibetan bright spots: Evidence for free aqueous fluids in the Tibetan middle crust, Makovsky, Y. & Klemperer, S. L., 10 May 1999, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 104, B5, p. 10795-10825 31 p., 1998JB900074.
- INDEPTH (International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya) multichannel seismic reflection data: Description and availability, Alsdorf, D., Makovsky, Y., Zhao, W., Brown, L. D., Nelson, K. D., Klemperer, S., Hauck, M., Ross, A., Cogan, M., Clark, M., Che, J. & Kuo, J., 1998, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 103, B11, p. 26993-26999 7 p., 98JB01078.
- Uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains and the bedrock beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet, Ten Brink, U. S., Hackney, R. I., Bannister, S., Stern, T. A. & Makovsky, Y., 10 Dec 1997, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 102, 12, p. 27603-27621 19 p.
- INDEPTH wide-angle reflection observation of P-wave-to-S-wave conversion from crustal bright spots in Tibet, Makovsky, Y., Klemperer, S. L., Ratschbacher, L., Brown, L. D., Li, M., Zhao, W. & Meng, F., 6 Dec 1996, In: Science. 274, 5293, p. 1690-1691 2 p.
- Partially molten middle crust beneath southern Tibet: Synthesis of project INDEPTH results, Nelson, K. D., Zhao, W., Brown, L. D., Kuo, J., Che, J., Liu, X., Klemperer, S. L., Makovsky, Y., Meissner, R., Mechie, J., Kind, R., Wenzel, F., Ni, J., Nabelek, J., Chen, L., Tan, H., Wei, W., Jones, A. G., Booker, J. & Unsworth, M. & 8 others, , 6 Dec 1996, In: Science. 274, 5293, p. 1684-1685 2 p.
- Structural elements of the southern Tethyan Himalaya rust from wide-angle seismic data, Makovsky, Y., Klemperer, S. L., Liyan, H., Deyuan, L., Wenjin, Z., Xianwen, L., Jinru, G., Ming, L., Nelson, K. D., Chengde, W., Brown, L. D., Hauck, M. L. & Kuo, J. T., Oct 1996, In: Tectonics. 15, 5, p. 997-1005 9 p.
- Deep seismic reflection evidence for continental underthrusting beneath southern Tibet, Zhao, W., Nelson, K. D., Che, J., Quo, J., Lu, D., Wu, C., Liu, X. & Makovsky, Y., 1993, In: Nature. 366, 6455, p. 557-559 3 p.
- העכן הקטן - נחש בחולות נודדים, מקובסקי, י. & פינשאו, ב., 1982, In: טבע וארץ: כתב-עת לטבע ולידיעת הארץ. כ"ד, 6, p. 250-253 4 p.
Education
B.Sc: The Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel (1987–1990)
Ph.D: The Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, California, USA (1990–1997)
Postdoctoral Research: European TMR URO Network, Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra "Jaume Almera" - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IJA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain (1997–1998)
Academic Background
Before and during my studies, I was a desert guide and diving instructor in Elat, the Sinai, the Red Sea, and the Western Desert of Egypt. After my post-doctoral training, I spent nearly a decade as a senior consultant at Paradigm (now Emerson-Aspentech), a global leader in geophysical software, delivering geophysical imaging and reservoir characterization solutions internationally. I joined the University of Haifa in 2007, where I have been a founding member of the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, and served as the founding chair of the Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences, as chair of the Maurice Hatter Department of Marine Technologies, and on several national committees and initiatives promoting marine sciences and sustainable development.
Research Areas
Working in broad multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations, my group addresses a broad range of research topics, including:
Development and application of deep-sea research technologies and methodologies:
• AUV and ROV operational, surveying, sampling, and in-situ manipulation technologies and methods.
• Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) based seafloor and habitat characterization and video fusion.
• Optimization of sensor technologies for ROV & AUV operation.
• Water column multibeam data analysis.
• Mapping and characterization of deep-sea marine habitats.
Multi-scale geophysical data acquisition, imaging, and analysis; combining a variety of methods, from very-high resolution profiling and hydrographic mapping to multi-attribute commercial 3D-seismic data.
Active marine processes – controls and impacts – with a particular focus on deep-sea seafloor studies, including:
• Sediment transport, deposition, and deformation processes, such as submarine mass transport complexes, deep-sea channels, and thin-skinned tectonics, their climatic controls, geohazards, and environmental impacts.
• Seafloor hydrocarbons migration, seepage, and hydrates, their sources, controlling processes, special habitats, and environmental and climatic interplay.
• The interplay of oceanographic processes with marine habitats and seafloor processes.
Resolution and mitigation of the impact of global and regional environmental changes, including:
• The Eastern Mediterranean Sea as a model system for climatic changes.
• Variability and trend of environmental and climatic changes.
• Anthropogenic impacts on marine environments.
Processes of continental margins and basins evolution, with focus on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.