The Dead Sea is one of the incredibly valuable “gems” of the land of Israel, a territory filled with mystique and famous biblical legends. It is well-known that due to the high salt concentration in its waters, no one can sink here, even if they cannot swim. However, due to the ongoing evaporation phenomenon, many scientists predict that within the next three decades, the Dead Sea will truly be “dead,” meaning it will dry up completely.
The legend of the Dead Sea’s origin is recounted in the Bible, where a family was fleeing, and God warned them not to look back. However, the wife disobeyed and turned into a pillar of salt, leading to the formation of the Dead Sea.
To this day, the Dead Sea remains a mysterious and magical body of water for many. Situated at a very low elevation, around 396 meters below sea level, this area is close to natural mineral deposits, especially salt. Compared to the salinity of the Mediterranean Sea, the waters here are ten times saltier, and about three times saltier than the waters of the salt flats in Utah. Because of this, even non-swimmers can comfortably lie back and read a newspaper on the Dead Sea, and drowning is simply not a concern in this unique body of water. Currently, this area attracts numerous tourists, not only due to its peculiarities but also because many believe that bathing here has therapeutic effects.
Recently, many scientists have been focusing on the evaporation phenomenon occurring at the Dead Sea. Gidon Bromberg, an Israeli scientist, stated that the Dead Sea is “gradually dying.” The water supply for the Dead Sea comes from the Jordan River, but currently, this river is severely polluted, and the water flow is significantly decreasing due to the increasing demand for water for consumption. The reduction in the Jordan River’s water volume means less water flowing into the Dead Sea. When the Dead Sea is not sufficiently supplied with water, it will create many dangerous “sinkholes,” and it may dry up in the near future.
To “save” the Dead Sea, numerous ideas have been proposed, including the construction of a canal to divert water from the Red Sea. However, this solution seems unfeasible as many fear it would mix the unique minerals of the Dead Sea with regular seawater. Moreover, there are concerns that bringing water from the Red Sea could change the color of the Dead Sea (potentially to brownish-red). According to Mr. Bromberg, the best solution is to rehabilitate the Jordan River, finding reasonable measures to limit the use of this river’s water for irrigation, thus helping maintain the necessary water level for the Dead Sea.
