- The Dead Sea is not technically a sea,
but it may soon be dead.
This salt lake in the middle of the Jordan River Valley
is one of the biggest tourist destinations
in the entire region, but it's been drying up for decades
and losing water at a frightening rate.
Why exactly is the Dead Sea shrinking?
And what steps are being taken to save this salty wonder?
Let's back up a little.
Despite bearing the most ominous name
of any body of water on the planet,
the Dead Sea is technically a salt lake,
one of the saltiest lakes in the world.
This lake's salinity levels are so high
that your body weighs less than the water,
which means that instead of sinking,
you'll float on the water's surface.
The lake is also chock full of salts and minerals
not often found in ocean waters,
many of which are fantastic for your skin.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists
flock to the Dead Sea every year to float on it
and spread mud all over themselves
for an all-natural spa treatment.
The Dead Sea's name refers to the fact
that no large-sized marine life can live
in such high salt levels.
But the water is full of microorganisms,
and, combined with the lush surrounding area
of the groundwater-abundant Jordan River Valley,
it forms a thriving and delicate ecosystem.
With its current surface elevation
at 433.5 meters below sea level,
the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth.
It's also nine times as salty as the ocean.
So, why is this tourist magnet in danger?
For the last century, the Dead Sea has been heavily mined,
largely for minerals like potash.
To do this, miners separate the water into pools,
which they let stand so that they can evaporate
and leave behind the desired minerals.
It's not just the mining, though.
The construction of dams that cut off the natural flow
of the Jordan river have damaged the Dead Sea's ability
to replenish itself, and the strain has started to show.
It's been evaporating at a clip of about a meter a year
for the past century since the mining started.
This shrinking of the Dead Sea's size
affects nearby freshwater sources,
putting the local wildlife at risk.
Another dangerous outcome of the receding shoreline
is the formation of sinkholes.
Sinkholes form when underground salt deposits left behind
by the retreating waters collapse or are dissolved
by fresh water that has come to replace it.
The sinkhole trend is already posing a threat
to the area's infrastructure, roads, tourist spots,
and even industrial sites
on both sides of the Dead Sea have been affected.
You'd think that as a major tourist destination,
with top-of-the-line hotels and spas on both shores,
Israel and Jordan would be eager to fix the situation
and restore the Dead Sea's levels.
The problem is that cooperation
in the Middle East is in short supply.
Israel and Jordan are at peace
but don't have the warmest relationship,
not to mention the strained dynamic
between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
As a result, the conservation effort
to preserve the Dead Sea and the Jordan River Valley
has been, for lack of a better term, dead in the water.
However, there is reason for cautious optimism.
The most promising solution thus far
is the Red Sea-Dead Sea pipeline, or RSDS.
Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority
agreed to the plan in 2005 and revised it in 2013.
The plan proposes the building
of a 200-kilometer long pipeline
that would carry brine from a desalination plant
using water pumped from the Red Sea
to replenish the Dead Sea's dwindling supply.
The RSDS pipeline still isn't a reality,
but it could slow the Dead Sea's evaporation,
prevent the displacement and extinction
of the Jordan River Valley's wildlife,
and provide fresh drinking water
to a region in desperate need for it.
And, perhaps most importantly,
it could provide a groundbreaking precedent
of cooperation between Israel, Jordan,
and the Palestinian Authority,
which in turn could strengthen diplomatic relationships
for the future.
Some environmental organizations fear
that the RSDS pipeline will do more harm than good,
especially since there still won't be enough water
flowing in to stop the yearly net loss.
Their concerns include the possibility that,
by introducing water from a foreign ecosystem,
a major disruption could occur
in the Dead Sea's water makeup.
The Dead Sea is immensely valuable
to everyone in its vicinity
and it would be a disaster if it were to disappear.
Let's hope the players in the region take advantage
of the opportunity to work together
so that future generations can experience the wonder
of floating at the lowest point on earth.
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