The Dead Sea: A Disaster of Epic Proportions (Seriously)

I am Floating in the Dead Sea

The lowest point on earth is the Dead Sea at 420 meters (1,377 feet) below sea level. Nestled in the Jordan Rift Valley between Israel and Jordan, the Dead Sea is one of the saltiest water bodies on earth, containing about 33% salt, which is about 10 times higher than seawater. Because the human body contains about 60% water, people float in the Dead Sea. This week we visited the Dead Sea to conduct field density tests on near-shore water.

Actual and Projected Surface Area of the Dead Sea
Source: Professor Hani Abu Qdais

Now here comes the disaster: the Dead Sea is drying up. Due to the extreme water shortage and population growth in the region, much of the water that once flowed into the Dead Sea has been diverted for potable water use. Inflow to the Dead Sea has decreased from 1,200 million cubic meters per year to 250 million cubic meters per year; in the last 55 years, the water level has dropped by 24 meters (79 feet) and the surface area has decreased by 33%. The map to the left shows the actual and projected surface area of the Dead Sea given current trends in water use.

Shoreline of the Dead Sea

According to experts, if nothing is done to increase the flow into the Dead Sea, it will be gone in 50 years. The drying of the Dead Sea has other adverse impacts, such as the growth of sinkholes in the area due to the retreat of the water levels. The Dead Sea is home to thousands of years of cultural and religious history, not to mention a major tourist attraction in the area. The photo to the right shows the distinct layers of the shoreline where the water level once was but has now retreated.

The Jordanian government, in concert with the Israeli and Palestinian governments, is currently implementing the Red-Dead Sea Seawater Conveyance Project. This project will pump seawater from the Red Sea, approximately 1,900 million cubic meters per year, the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea to a desalination plant at Wadi Araba. The plant would desalinate the seawater, producing 850 million cubic meters per year for use in water-taxed Jordan, Israel and Palestine. The remainder of the water from the desalination process, known as brine---with a saline concentration approximately one-fifth that of the Dead Sea---would be discharged into the Dead Sea to help raise the water level.

The Sun Sets over the Dead Sea

This is an extremely charged topic: I've attended two lectures on this project, and in both you couldn't part the tension in the room with a knife. Scientists are concerned about environmental degradation of the Dead Sea, particularly because the desalination process will introduce foreign chemicals into the Dead Sea. Government officials are concerned with providing water for their people and with preserving the rich cultural heritage and thriving tourist industry. The Red-Dead Sea Seawater Conveyance Project is their solution to a problem with no easy answers.