Dead Sea
| Dead Sea | ||
 Satellite image of the Dead Sea. | ||
| Administration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country |  Israel  Jordan  PA | |
| District of Israel Subdivisions of Jordan Governorates of the Palestinian Authority | South Karak , Madaba , Balqa Bethlehem , Jericho , Jerusalem | |
| Geography | ||
| Latitude Longitude | 31 30 'North 35 30 'east / 31.5, 35.5 | |
| Type | Lake endoreic | |
| Origin | Natural | |
| Area | 810 km 2 | |
| Length | 67 km | |
| Width | 18 km | |
| Altitude | -422 M | |
| Depth Max | 118 m 378 m | |
| Volume | 147 km 3 | |
| Hydrography | ||
| Watershed | 41 650 km 2 | |
| Food | Jordan and several wadis | |
| Outfall (s) | no | |
| Islands | ||
| Number of islands | No | |
| Miscellaneous | ||
| Fishing population | No | |
| Commentary | Salinity of about 27.5% | |
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The Dead Sea is a lake of salt water from the Middle East divided between Israel , the Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Covering an area of approximately 810 km 2, it is fed by the Jordan River. While salinity average of seawater ranges between 2 and 4%, the Dead Sea is approximately 27.5%. No fish and no seaweed (macro) can not survive in such conditions is what earned him the name "Dead Sea". In reality, the sea is not completely dead since we know today that microscopic organisms ( plankton , bacteria, halophilic and halobacteria , etc..) live there.
Summary |
The water of the Dead Sea is a solution of salts whose concentration differs greatly from the normal salinity of an ocean. The magnesium chloride and sodium chloride are the main components of this solution. Mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea are known to treat psoriasis and rheumatism.
The density of water from the Dead Sea (1240 kg.m -3) is such that a human can float without any problem.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point of the globe with 417 meters below sea level , but other parts of the Great Rift Valley could someday supplant. The level of the Dead Sea down to one meter per year on average.
History
The decline in rainfall , which began 40,000 years ago or so, has resulted, due to strong evaporation , a regression of the lake and a steady increase in its salinity.
As the Aral Sea and Lake Chad , the Dead Sea has lost the last fifty years, one third of its area. The dryness is such a large tract of land now cracked the split into two distinct basins. The main cause is the overuse of increasing Jordan , his only source of fresh water , for purposes of irrigation. Another significant cause is the evaporation of large volumes of water by plants of salt from the Dead Sea. They would be responsible for the evaporation of 300 million cubic meters of water per year.
Reducing the size of the Dead Sea continues day after day, and eventually creates an environmental risk , economic and geostrategic in the region.
One solution is to dig the canal from the Dead Sea (called "Peace Canal"), a canal from the Red Sea , a distance of 180 kilometers. The difference in level would add a power plant for producing electricity. We also construct a central desalination. In late 2006, the World Bank , the European Union , the Japan and the United States funded a feasibility study for a period of two years at an estimated cost of fifteen million dollars. The total project cost is estimated at three or four billion dollars.
This solution had already been envisaged in 1902 by Theodor Herzl , but from the Mediterranean Sea as closer. It had been planned several projects one of which consisted of a tunnel. The first meters were inaugurated by Menachem Begin , but the digging was suspended, then the idea was abandoned in 1985.
Following the Oslo Accords in 1993, the idea was given up to date involving the Palestinian Authority and Jordan. The idea is to pump water from the Red Sea into the mountains near the Gulf of Aqaba (600 meters above the Dead Sea). Then, a channel of 184 km would be widened in Jordanian territory, which covered 134 kilometers, to bring water. Several environmental organizations have serious doubts about this solution, even fearing negative impacts on the ecosystem.
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