Is There Life From the Dead Sea?
A fresh glass of cool, clear water is, in some places of the world, an expensive luxury. Consider, for example, the area of the Dead Sea, located in the southeastern part of Israel. It is one of the most unique places on earth. First it is 1385 feet below sea level, the lowest place on the surface of the earth. Water cannot flow out so only through evaporation can water escape, leaving behind the dissolved salts and minerals brought in by the Jordan River and other tributaries. It is Israel’s and Jordan’s mineral and salt waste deposit.
Second, the Dead Sea is the second saltiest body of water on earth, 8.6 times saltier than the oceans. This means it is a 33.7% salt solution. Below 300 feet the saturated solution precipitates the salt to the bottom. The Dead Sea is 42 feet long, 11 miles wide, and 1240 feet deep, making it also the deepest salt lake in the world.
Vast stores of potash, bromine, caustic soda, magnesium, and sodium chloride have been left by the evaporating water over the last several thousand years. One estimate is that the Dead Sea area holds more than two trillion dollars worth of fertilizer compounds (presently 1.9 billion tons of potash). Ironically, what makes the Dead Sea dead has contributed to giving its homelands life.
The serious problem that has arisen, however, is that water level in the Dead Sea is dropping, presently at three feet a year. Since 1970, the level has dropped 72 feet. Why is this happening? First of all, very little rain falls in the area. The northern part of the Sea gets about 4 inches of rain a year, the southern part only 2 inches. Irrigation and manufacturing in the northern part of the country have dropped the amount of water flowing through the Jordan River by 90%.
Some believe the salts in the Sea have therapeutic value and, for this reason, they are taken out of the Dead Sea and sold. Desalination plants located in the southern part of the Sea both remove valuable products and provide fresh, clean water. This has also lowered the water table in the country, affecting the ability to provide enough water for the citizens and increasing the need to take water from the Jordan.
The entire country has been affected by this drop in water level. For example, it has caused the Dead Sea to change its very shape. The bottom third of the Sea has always been much shallower than the rest. Some conjecture that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, mentioned in the Old Testament book of Genesis, were located in this area. But with the water level dropping, this southern area is drying up and is now the Lisan Peninsula (Arabic for “tongue” because of its shape) has completely separated the northern and southern parts of the Sea.
The Dead Sea has been a great tourist attraction for centuries, and this drop in its level may have an effect on this. It is frankly a healthy place to be because of the increased air pressure, low levels of allergens, high levels of oxygen, and decreased ultra-violet solar radiation.
Presently Jordan and Israel are considering a joint project called the “Two Seas Canal”. If it happens, a 125 mile pipeline would pump salt water from the Aqaba region of the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. A desalination plant on the Jordanian side would produce both 850 million cubic meters of fresh water a year, and hydroelectricity would be generated as the pumped water falls into the Sea.
Western civilization often takes for granted the glass of water freely available. Other nations must go to great lengths or limit its use to provide sufficient fresh water for the people. Though even our dependable sources of water are threatened, wise stewardship will hopefully continue to permit us to enjoy this life-giving liquid for years to come.
But if you’re in a place that does not have clean water, look into the Berkey Water Filter. The Travel Berkey, or any of their models, ship with Black Berkey Filters that are so powerful, they are able to remove microscopic bacteria without taking out the minerals beneficial to your health. There is virtually no other water filter system that can do this.
Charlie and Trigg, Ragdoll Kittens, Eating Pure Bites (Freeze Dried Chicken Breast Cat Treats)
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