I have found reeds growing in the Red Sea just outside the Gulf of Aqaba in Saudi Arabia. Email me if you want the location and photos. This part of the Red Sea is saltier than average Red Sea salinity, itself saltier than the Indian Ocean. I tested the water at the location where the reeds are growing and found salinity to be 41 ppt. So the statement that reeds do not grow in the sea is incorrect. Also, we can expect the climate to have been wetter back in Moses' day, with less environmental pressure and more fresh water springs when there was no overgrazing nor over abstraction of wells. Agatharchides of Cnidus describes this area as being full of springs with lush growth, this is from around 200 BC. I am sure there would have been more areas of the Reed Sea with reeds growing along the shore than today but the clump I found is a relict from a bygone era. I even found date palms growing right into the sea, roots exposed on three sides by marine erosion. It would be interesting to carry out ancient DNA tests of marine sediments to test my hypothesis of reeds once having been more extensive.
I have found reeds growing in the Red Sea just outside the Gulf of Aqaba in Saudi Arabia. Email me if you want the location and photos. This part of the Red Sea is saltier than average Red Sea salinity, itself saltier than the Indian Ocean. I tested the water at the location where the reeds are growing and found salinity to be 41 ppt. So the statement that reeds do not grow in the sea is incorrect. Also, we can expect the climate to have been wetter back in Moses' day, with less environmental pressure and more fresh water springs when there was no overgrazing nor over abstraction of wells. Agatharchides of Cnidus describes this area as being full of springs with lush growth, this is from around 200 BC. I am sure there would have been more areas of the Reed Sea with reeds growing along the shore than today but the clump I found is a relict from a bygone era. I even found date palms growing right into the sea, roots exposed on three sides by marine erosion. It would be interesting to carry out ancient DNA tests of marine sediments to test my hypothesis of reeds once having been more extensive.