The Dead Sea and Sinkholes
March 26, 2012
The Dead Sea, one of the most impressive natural wonders in Israel, has long been an enigma to many researchers. The high salinity and dense water make this lake unlike any other body of water in the world. However, in recent years it has shrunk significantly.
Low rainfall and mining companies in Jordan and Israel that extract minerals from the Dead Sea are among the reasons that have resulted in the water level receding by about two billion gallons a year and the shoreline by four feet each year.
Eli Raz, a geologist at BGU’s Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, who has devoted decades to studying the lake is worried about this phenomenon. He and other researchers are most concerned with the sinkholes that have formed in areas that used to be part of the Dead Sea.
As the groundwater surrounding the dried up shores of the Dead Sea dries up, the surface caves in, causing dangerous cavernous sinkholes. This has caused much of the once thriving tourist beaches to become highly unstable, and closed to visitors.
“Raz said there are many theories behind the sinkholes,” writes Adam Dickter, “but it is clear that the salt cap under the ground surface is being dissolved by fresh water. The only question is why?”
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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