A prediction/prophecy of rage regarding the future of the Dead Sea, despite the attempt to harvest the salt
These days, the details are being finalized for the implementation of the salt harvesting project in the northern evaporation pond of the Dead Sea. A salt harvest that should prevent the flooding of hotels and tourist facilities at the mouths of the Zohar and Bokek streams.
I have already written my opinion on the right way to save the hotels before And I sent it to everyone who knows about it and everyone who thinks or knows what to do and how to do it. Most of the writers and decision makers didn't even bother to answer.
At the current stage, my proposal has not been accepted, even though it is the right one from an environmental and tourist point of view. Unfortunately, decisions in our environment are not made because of logical or social or environmental reasons but are influenced by foreign and strange considerations, and we are governed by them. Below is an attempt to predict the future of the Dead Sea, which is known to be a unique and special natural phenomenon in our world.
We will start from the assumption that the project will be carried out as planned, the salt harvesting will be carried out in the entire area of Pool 5. The Dead Sea Enterprises will build a pumping station north of the existing station and the pumping of water to the evaporation ponds will continue. For this purpose, a conveyor belt will be erected that will "add" a touch to the local landscape and in pool 5 there will be extensive, noisy and ugly activity of excavators, trucks, tractors, etc. All this for years in front of a number of hotels where tourists also came to enjoy the unique view that will be seen through the industrial activity.
In the coming decades, the hotels will continue to exist without the risk of flooding, but what will happen south of the hotels?
Let's recall that until the middle of the last century there was a natural division of the Dead Sea into two basins, with the northern one being deep (about 300 meters) and the southern shallow (about 3 meters). The construction of the dams and the creation of the evaporation ponds in the southern basin in the 30s was carried out based on the above topography.
Evaporation activity continues, meaning deposition of salt and other minerals will continue in the southern evaporite pools. Based on current data, the subsidence is at a rate of about 20 cm every year. In the last fifty years, about 8 meters have been added to the bottom of the evaporation ponds. That is, since the closing of the great dam, sediments have sunk into the ponds, raising the water level by about 8 meters. That is why every year the sides of the ponds are raised and the dams are strengthened.
The rise in the water level necessitated the rebuilding of a flood protection embankment south of the pools, an embankment that replaced the Caledonia. (The Caledonia is a flood protection embankment built in the 30s). The water from the evaporation ponds that flowed over Caledonia flooded the Neot HaKachr salt and "contributed" to the beginning of its extinction (extinction of a unique and unique salt in the entire world!) We will come back to it later.
The factories also continuously raise the dams to the east of Mount Sodom (west of the evaporation ponds), to protect the section of road (90) along the length of Mount Sodom. Despite the protection attempts, the road is frequently flooded and every few years it is necessary to raise it. Since the industrial center is adjacent to the evaporation ponds, it is necessary to protect it and therefore the dams are raised around it. Today the industrial center is located on an area below the water level in the evaporation ponds.
This is the description of the current situation. As published, harvesting the salt costs a fortune, so it is likely that the factories will not harvest in the southern ponds, but will continue to strengthen and raise the dams.... how far? Already today, everyone who travels along Mount Sodom is "protected" from the east by an earthen embankment that hides the view, the embankment will be built and backed up until the factories "surrender"
The old workers' camp, which there are attempts to preserve - is flooded. Water that seeps in will flood the road and wet the slopes of Mount Sodom, Highway 90 will disappear, the industrial area that is at risk of flooding will be moved, perhaps south closer to the Navot HaKar intersection, but there are chances of floods and therefore it is assumed that the move will be to the west - that is, to the marl landscape that is unique to the area. The damage to the landscape is obvious, but the factory operators are used to causing scenic and environmental damage.
From the south, the water will flood the proper salinity of the square and destroy it for good. The infiltration of the salty water will salt the settlements' agricultural fields and will require the abandonment of extensive agricultural areas.
Already today the bottom of the evaporation ponds is about 8 meters higher than the level in the last century, the ores continue to sink and the bottom is higher every year, which requires the investment of more energy in pumping water into the evaporation ponds... how much?
If "business continues as usual", in a few years the entire southern Dead Sea will look like a system of walls of increasing dimensions (competition to the Great Wall of China?). It is possible that there will be someone who will allow the factories to build another evaporation pond (north of pond 5), which will allow the southern ponds to be abandoned and then the whole scenario described below will be accelerated. Anyone who thinks that the forecast is delusional and wild, is welcome to come back, study and memorize the data and offer a sane, real and maybe even positive forecast?
It can be assumed that at some point the extraction of minerals with the existing method will stop, and the southern pools will be abandoned. Whether due to lack of viability or due to the development of another method (extraction by osmosis, filtration or electrolysis), the factories are obliged (by law) to return the area to its former state, but no one will oblige the factories to carve the layers that sank in the southern evaporation ponds. It is permissible to hope and assume that the dams will be flattened, the mining pits will be filled and everything that can be removed will be removed from the area... with the exception of the salt layers. That is, at some point in a few decades, the activity with the current method will stop and the pumping of water to the evaporation ponds will stop. After the removal of the dams and the rest of the remains that can be removed, there will be a salt plain many meters high (about 8 meters) that covers the entire area of the ponds, that is, the entire southwestern basin of what was The Dead Sea will be a salt plain. Already now you can decide to call the horrible phenomenon "the salt flat". Or perhaps as a reminder of the ancient destruction (by a "higher power") of the "Plain of Sodom"? There are many assumptions and assumptions about the Sodom and Gomorrah revolution, in the current case the cause of destruction is known and clear!
With a careful calculation, a plain will be created that will flatten about 50 square kilometers and the height of the mineral deposits in it is close to 8 meters, that is, hundreds of millions of cubic meters of a solid mixture whose main ingredients are salt and potash. It is possible that one day a use will be found for the ore and a "victim" will be found who will be willing to purchase the toxic mixture, or then the "Sodom Plain" will once again become a center of mining and quarrying activity that will shower its surroundings with toxic dust and constant noise to the "happiness and well-being" of the residents of the agricultural settlements of Ein- Tamar and Naot HaKer. In a careful assessment, all of this will happen within 20 years, that is, during the period when the perpetrators of the injustice and those who do not do enough to prevent the disaster, they will also be able to be impressed.
Those who see the rose can pray and hope that at some point the water will return to the Dead Sea...whether due to the opening of the Jordan dams, multiple floods, or any other utopian scenario. The water level in the northern basin will rise and within decades it will return to the level it was in the middle of the last century (about minus 395). The water will flood most of the sinkholes and the back rowing of the streams will moderate and so will the damage to the infrastructure.
Let's try to describe the (future) landscape: the northern basin of the Dead Sea is full and surrounded by flourishing settlements, hotels and tourist facilities overflowing and crowded with visitors because what used to be the southern basin of the Dead Sea has... a "salt plain".
It may be possible to use it to trade in greenhouse gases - since the white plain reflects the sun's radiation, it is assumed that there will be those who will develop sports activities related to the salt plains. After pushing the dying sea into a competition for one of the wonders of the world, surely there will also be those who will say that "this is beautiful, we can submit the "Salt Plain" as a candidate for the competition for the site where man caused the greatest destruction Hallelujah!"
The Dead Sea and its surroundings are for me a familiar and beloved landscape around which I have worked and lived for many years. In my opinion (and in the opinion of many others) there are few areas that are more beautiful and interesting than it, therefore with sorrow and pain I will quote what was written in a different context and another: "Cries of a beloved land" Assuming that there will be someone who will dispute the course of events that I have described, I invite anyone who knows the area and the data to suggest a (possible) script Another that will lead to another situation. Of course, anyone who thinks that the damage or death can be prevented is welcome to express their opinion and maybe (I hope) we will even manage to find a way to prevent the realization of the sad forecast.
And yet to give a little hope, to postpone the end and to postpone the realization of the forecast: the activity of the factories must be immediately reduced to a minimal level, the Jordanians must be contacted to explain and demand the reduction of activity. But even then, the damage will not stop and the situation will not be corrected, but will only be postponed. Just as we accepted the desiccation of the sick, just as we got used to the damage caused by the Aswan Dam, just as we will continue to be affected by the Helpesian migration - so will we get the "Salt Plain" or "Sodom Plain".
It is known that in the historical past there were periods when the southern basin was dry due to natural factors. This time the change comes about solely because of human activity. This time, even a lot of water will not cover the injustice, since in the southern basin a salt cliff is being built that is many meters higher than the bottom.
And it has already been said that the time has come that instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the human population, there will be control of the human population for the sake of the environment. She said that for the Dead Sea you will no longer add, will not benefit and will not help, but maybe still better late than never.
The ecosystem from the mountainous Jordan through the Hula marshes, Lake Kinneret, the southern Jordan and the Dead Sea is a unique and special phenomenon in our world. We dried up the sick, the Sea of Galilee becomes a muddy puddle, in southern Jordan the waters of Ephesia flow, what was the Dead Sea is dying and disappearing, therefore we can only summarize with the words "cries of a beloved land"!
18 תגובות
Asaf Shalom. It's Shraga again. I checked and I admit my mistake. Pools 8 and 9, which are the southernmost, receive exactly the same water as evaporation pool number 5 (the one in front of the hotels) in the canal that flows east of Highway 90 and its northern beginning is more or less opposite the northern end of Mount Sodom. Until now, the level is also raised in them by about 20 cm per year, and after the cooking salt is deposited, their water, which mainly contains carnelite, is transferred to other evaporation ponds where about 50% of the volume of water evaporates, and the mixture of 50% water and 50% carnelite is transferred to the potash plant. It was agreed that in evaporation pond number 5, the level will stop being raised as of 2016, which will require the "harvesting" of the salt in full. In the southern pools 8 and 9, they will continue to raise the level at this stage until they decide that it is time to stop, and then they will also start there to "harvest" all the salt from their soil. When this will happen is currently unclear. This depends on the environmental factors in the place - the salt of Sodom and the agricultural areas in Naot HaKar and Ein Tamar. I apologize and thank you for your response.
Sorry Assaf, you are repeating your mistake again. You probably don't understand the process of extracting minerals in the Dead Sea and you probably didn't internalize what I wrote. I would be happy to explain this to you in a phone call 050-5858169
to Shraga
You described the process correctly and accurately except for the fact that:
Salt (and other minerals) continues to sink in the southern pools as well,
The simple fact is that the level in the southern pools is rising,
What forces the constant elevation of all the dams, the elevation of the dams can be seen,
as well as the elite level
The "must" to the salt pad for pool 5 only
Therefore, the rise in the level in the southern pools will continue.... And the described process will continue.
Asaf Shalom. You write: "Evaporation activity continues, meaning deposition of salt and other minerals will continue in the southern evaporation ponds. Based on current data, the subsidence is at a rate of about 20 cm every year." no no no!!! I think you made a mistake. The level rise in pool 5 by 20 cm per year is the result of the settling of the cooking salt that is emitted first from the solution at this stage of the production and sinks but is not completely removed out of the water (as the Jordanians do) but only partially and piled up on the embankments in front of the hotels. The remaining carnelite dissolved in the water flowing south is harvested after solar evaporation of 50% of the water volume by the barges that advance it to the factory in floating pipes and from which the potash and other products are extracted. From 2016 (to my knowledge) the Dead Sea factories are obliged to remove the entire amount of table salt (sodium chloride) from the bottom and thus stop raising the level in pool 5. This will also eliminate the need to continue raising both the level and the dams in pool 5 and the pools south of it. This is because the carnelian in them is the mineral that sinks and is harvested in the sea by the floating barges. In my opinion, you missed an important part in understanding the potash production process. If I am wrong, I would appreciate it if you could correct me.
Any activity for "international pressure" in our environment becomes or is interpreted as political and objectionable,
I appealed (we didn't appeal) to everyone who I think should understand the subject, to everyone who has "hands and feet" in the business,
And also to WWF……. It can be assumed that the decisions about harvesting salt are also due to the pressure of the greens,
insufficient and insufficient,
Below is a (partial) list of the bodies and offices I contacted: State Comptroller's Office,
The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Minister of Negev Development, the Ministry of Environmental Protection,
Ministry of Tourism, Nature and Parks Authority, Society for the Protection of Nature, Tamar Regional Council,
Dead Sea Enterprises, Dead Sea Defenses, Adam Teva and Law, the Economic Committee, Knesset Members,
Of all the writers, the only one who responded (automatic reply) was the State Comptroller,
In light of the lack of response from the writers, I understood that there is no chance of positive activity
That's why I wrote a lament ("Requiem") for a beloved country.
R.H
A sad and depressing story indeed. The Dead Sea is perhaps the most unique and unparalleled place in the world in Israel in terms of the landscape and the climate and the life there.
It's a shame that he didn't win the competition for 7 wonders of the world, then the eyes of the world would have been on him and it is assumed that the destruction would have stopped.
The only chance is under international pressure to make it a recognized site and a UN nature reserve. After all, it would not occur to anyone to turn the Serengeti Reserve in Kenya into an area of factories and shopping centers.
Assaf, have you contacted nature conservation agencies outside of Israel?
to a red man,
The flooded part of the Hula reserve is a "comma" compared to the lake and the marshes that were until the drying up,
As suggested by drying the patient and maximum pumping of water from the Kinneret, there is a fatal injury
In the ecology of the Sea of Galilee: sick fish, increase in salinity and more, (there are many articles on this).
True, it is necessary to involve the Jordanians in the rescue activity to stop the water level falling in the north,
The industrial activity on the Jordanian side does not and will not have an effect on the remains of the plain salt because:
Between the southern evaporation pool on the Jordanian side and the (remnants) of the salt flat "flows" Nahal Arava
And the distance of about 10 km guarantees that there will be no effect.
Water desalination plants are definitely part of postponing the end.
to Shmulik,
Indeed yes, the process of drying out and the process of depositing minerals are both natural,
But human activity will overcome both of them in the Dead Sea,
Until the water level was lowered in the XNUMXs, the drop in the water level was only a few centimeters,
Without the activity of the plants, a layer of salt would have formed in the northern basin, several centimeters, not meters thick,
Without the activity of the factories, there would have been no danger of flooding: not for the hotels, not for the road, not for the salt marsh,
In Jordan and Sinai there are flood plains (called Ke Kaa) - like the Moon Valley - not salt plains,
"Tzahalino" arrived in the southern Dead Sea in Operation Lot.
And again: the solution (the partial one that will only delay the disaster) is to reduce the industrial activity of Khil to a minimal level.
In Operation Ovda we reached the Red Sea.
to Dr. Assaf Rosenthal,
I am a mechanical engineering student.
And as such I tell you that the deposition of the minerals is a natural process, and is not related to the proactive activity of the Dead Sea factories.
The drying up of lakes and seas has been a natural process since time immemorial
(Once the entire country and within it the rare salinity were covered by water).
This process does not spare our Dead Sea.
I'm not a geologist but as far as I know the level of the entire Dead Sea began to drop long before Operation Ovda in 48 when we arrived at the Dead Sea.
There are many salt flats in Jordan and Sinai in our region, but wonderful flats, one of these won't hurt us either.
Best regards Shmulik.
In essence, you are undoubtedly right, that the activity of the Dead Sea factories should be reduced.
Is it realistic?
It is not clear. Perhaps the way to do this is by paying additional costs to the factories as long as they extract the minerals in this method that is harmful to the environment.
On the other hand, your scenario is too pessimistic.
A salt marsh as you describe, if the batteries are really removed and the area is cleared and cleaned, it could turn out to be a tourist attraction, maybe not like the salt desert in southern Bolivia (the Salar), but still impressive and attractive.
As a resident of the Dead Sea, I am very sorry for the current situation and I greatly appreciate articles like yours that alert and warn and raise awareness of the issue, but I fear that too much pessimism harms the effectiveness of your words, because no one likes over-dramatics.
Does anyone know if there is a fissure at the bottom of the Dead Sea in the northern part? Maybe something related to the Syrian-African break?
The Sea of Galilee is not a muddy puddle and certainly not this year. The patient was re-infused with water after the historical mistake was understood.
The establishment of the desalination plants will in the future allow the streams north of Kinneret and the Jordan River to smile again.
What is surprising is that the Jordanians are not asked to participate in the financing of the salt harvest. They will continue on their own and even if the Dead Sea factories stop operating, the danger of flooding the salt flats will continue to exist.
to Shmulik
I already wrote in the past that "end of response in reading comprehension",
As a student, you should know the difference between "water level" and "ground level",
To the point of the matter: when the water level in the sea goes down, the southern basin dries up, therefore the spokesmen of the factories are right
(and you) because without artificial flow the southern basin would have subsided (and perhaps dried up),
Without exploiting the minerals to a! There was no sedimentation of minerals at the bottom and no salt flat was formed!
Without the deposition of minerals (salt) at the bottom, the water level would not rise and the salinity of the square would not be flooded,
The square salt is not "mine", but everyone who knows it knows that it is unique!
The workers' camp was determined by the Council for the Preservation of Sites (not by AI) as a site that deserves to be preserved, "ugly"?
Maybe for your taste, not for those who care about the history of the area,
Where and where did you see that I have something against the hotels?
If lamenting a beautiful country whose inhabitants are destroying it is resentment... you are right.
to Anat
The same computer where you write the response has maps.
The article is not clear to those who are not in the details and know the names of the mounds and road numbers
To the responder - I work and also a student and I have no capital, yet I manage to save for skiing every year, you are probably too lazy for that.
Dr. Resorenthal has the black contract.
Several things emerge from your letter, firstly that you are the wisest of all since you have the best suggestion on how to protect the Dead Sea.
Secondly, the Dead Sea factories are saving the Dead Sea, and this is because the ground level rises by 20 cm per year, and it started from an initial height of 3 meters, and since then it has risen 8 meters, so that even today there should have been a huge salt surface, which would also have wiped out your endemic "saltiness" .
And in addition, there is a double standard, when you are interested in preserving the houses of the workers, when it is clear that this piece of landscape is not natural and even quite ugly, why are old and ugly houses yes, and hotels with enormous economic and political value for the people living in Zion are not?
The article smells of annoyance on her behalf.
indeed sad. This is how it is when your country is ruled by a small group of families. Families who make their fortune in Israel but spend their time on ski vacations abroad, therefore trifles like salt water do not speak to them.