The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea lies between Jordan and Israel to its west and Jordan Valley to its east, marking Earth's lowest point of land and becoming its deepest hypersaline lake.

Since biblical times, Bedouin tribes have lived in this region, while explorers have come to study its minerals and unique climate.

What is special about the dead sea?

The Dead Sea is both Earth's lowest lake and most hypersaline body of water in existence, making its salinity too extreme for aquatic species such as fish or plants to inhabit it. Only microorganisms and certain varieties of seaweeds survive here.

Modern roads criss-cross through desert valleys surrounding Lake Lanier, weaving past palm groves backed by mountain ranges teeming with wildlife. Here you can enjoy both beauty and wonder; soak up buoyant waters or cover yourself in thick mineral-rich mud; both salts and minerals are said to bring healthful benefits, from soothing skin ailments to relieving sore joints.

The Dead Sea has become an oasis for visitors looking to experience its otherworldly atmosphere. Each year, thousands of tourists make the pilgrimage there to float on its surface or touch its crystal clear shores glittering with sodium chloride crystals. It boasts 21 minerals found nowhere else on Earth - each providing their own wellness effects such as magnesium which relieves stress while simultaneously stimulating body energy; calcium which balances skin pH levels; and potassium which promotes healthy cell growth.

Geography

The Dead Sea is an expanse of hypersaline lake that spans 390 sq mi (1.010-sq km). Bound by Palestine, Israel and Jordan it contains some of the lowest waters on Earth's surface and no larger aquatic organisms exist here (excluding bacteria and microflora ) but bacteria and microfungi remain.

This lake was formed as a result of heavy streamflow depositing layers of shale, mudstone, rock salt and gypsum into it from heavy rainfall. Due to evaporation over time, its size has reduced leaving behind a thick layer of salt on its bed.

Over time, the mineral-rich waters and mud of the Dead Sea have gained worldwide renown for their therapeutic qualities. Their therapeutic minerals are regularly used to treat skin conditions including psoriasis, vitiligo and atopic dermatitis.

In addition to its therapeutic qualities, the Dead Sea's unique geographical features have long drawn religious pilgrims and tourists. Unfortunately, environmental concerns have threatened its survival, prompting this series of satellite images from Landsat 5 and 8 satellites dating back 30 years - providing a fascinating snapshot into its past, current state, and what might lie in store.

Salt amounts

The Dead Sea is a landlocked lake whose extremely high salinity is determined by natural processes and an arid desert climate. Evaporation and inflow of water during summer and winter cause seasonal variations that result in significant seasonal fluctuations.

Due to its extreme salinity, Lake Stonington does not support large organisms; only microscopic fungi and bacteria reside there.

At first glance, harvesting table (or rock) salt from the Dead Sea seems straightforward enough - scooping from its surface. But in reality, its extraction involves using an innovative process. Water is fed into evaporation basins where heavy salt such as sodium chloride settles first before being collected for collection; then any excess liquid drains off, replaced with fresh water from another source before repeating this cycle until enough table salt has been produced to meet demand.

The Dead Sea has been receding rapidly since 2005, its level plummeting by more than one meter every year due to heavy water usage by surrounding catchment areas; however, lake levels had also experienced substantial drops at earlier points in time.

Climate

In recent decades, the Dead Sea has experienced considerable anthropogenic interference due to water resource exploitation leading to an ongoing reduction of its level, sinkhole formation and an increase in brine freshwater pollution. Understanding all of these processes requires interdisciplinary analysis - something DESERVE's Helmholtz Virtual Institute provides.

Measurements at various scales provide the basis for this research. Eddy covariance measurements allow us to accurately identify monthly actual evaporation rates, while also helping determine age distributions in groundwater aquifers.

Atmospheric measurement campaigns and model studies contribute to an improved understanding of the processes controlling aerosol transport and haze layer development, providing greater insight into human interventions such as Red Sea-Dead Sea conduit or transfer of salt deposits from evaporation ponds into lakes, as well as environmental risks such as decrease of tourism in regions due to decreased water availability. This information also allows more precise assessments of planned human interventions like these projects or transfer. Eventually this can assist with more informed assessments about impacts like planned interventions from human sources, aid in better assessing impacts such as planned human interventions such as planned human interference like Red Sea-Dead Sea conduit or transfer of salt deposits from evaporation ponds into lakes; also facilitate identification of environmental risks like decreased tourism due to reduced water availability or even possible decrease of tourism within regions due to decreased water availability.

Human imprint

The Dead Sea is a terminal lake whose level has been decreasing at an increasingly alarming rate due to over-exploitation of all its tributaries, leading to geological hazards of great scale in its region, prompting infrastructure development, development and safety concerns in that regard.

Why people float in the Dead Sea is that its salt content means the density of its waters is greater than your body weight, making you much more buoyant compared to your weight and explaining why no-one ever drowns there.

Over millennia, the Dead Sea has served as an oasis for messiahs, martyrs and zealots from various religions to find renewal and spiritual enlightenment. People come here seeking rejuvenation while others visit its many ancient monasteries for spiritual immersion.

The sudden appearance of sinkholes along the eastern and western Dead Sea shores in Israel and Jordan has drawn international scientific interest. Sinkholes have formed at an unprecedented rate, leading to local flooding, subsidence, and other natural hazards - creating an unparalleled opportunity for studying natural hazard processes in relation to local human environments