Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Is the Dead Sea going to die?

Mara Bujor by Mara Bujor
March 20, 2009
in Environment, Environmental Issues, Research, Studies, World Problems
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit
Whenever we hear something about the Dead Sea, we immediately think about the deepest point on Earth and, of course, about salt…a whole lot of salt. However, all these may soon become part of the history as the sea is shrinking at an alarming level and according to researchers from the University of Technology in Darmstadt, Germany, this is far from being good news.
It seems thus, that the projected Dead Sea-Red Sea or Mediterranean-Dead Sea Channels need to have quite a significant capacity of carrying to bring the Dead Sea to its original level so as to effectively produce electricity and fresh water. According to the studies, the entire Dead Sea problem is mostly due to water consumption in the area and not to the climate changes.
Usually, the levels of such lakes are a clear indicator of the climatic conditions as they are the result of the water running into the lake and precipitations minus the water lost through evaporation. However, in this case other factors disrupted the balance as the water from the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers was used for irrigation and the one from the Dead Sea itself for the potash industry (the common name given to potassium carbonate and various mined and manufactured salts that contain the element). So, in the last 30 years the water level has decreased (0,7 m/a)and so did the volume  (0,47 km³/a) and its surface area(4 km² /a). As 14 km3 of water were lost, the receding water has left erosional terraces on the lake’s sides, which were recorded by using Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) field surveys. this allowing the terraces to be dated to specific years.

It seems that the phenomenon has quite a few unpleasant consequences including higher costs for the companies which extract potash, salt and magnesium, an accelerated outflow of fresh water from surrounding underground water aquifers, also making it difficult for tourists to benefit from using the water for medicinal purposes. Moreover, the creation of a landscape of sinkholes and mud could lead a dissolution of buried salts which may affect roads and other structures for civil purpose.

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

In order to improve the situation the same researchers have suggested that the diversion of Jordan to the Mediterranean coast was replaced by desalinization of seawater, thus slowing the process considerably and offering the possibility to put into practice projects such as  the Red Sea-Dead Sea Channel or the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Channel. Anyway, they will need to have a carrying capacity of more than 0.9 km3 per year in order for the lake to regain its level from 30 years ago and also have a positive impact on the agriculture and potash industry in the neighboring area.

source: Springer

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Tags: potashthe Dead Sea
ShareTweetShare
Mara Bujor

Mara Bujor

Mara is a student preparing to take the plunge and go to college. She's always been interested in anything new and intriguing as long as it made her think. She considers herself far from being a scientist but rather a seeker on his way to new and exciting answers and she's trying to make the internet educate people and show them the interesting part of science.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.