Dear MEL Topic Readers,
In the lowest place on Earth, a sea is rapidly dying — and no one can
agree how to save it
Located on the border between Jordan and Israel, the Dead Sea is an
inland salt lake sitting at about 430 meters below sea level, the lowest
exposed point on Earth's surface. As the salinity of the lake is about 34%, roughly
10 times saltier than usual ocean water, your body floats easily in the water. However,
as climate change has made droughts fiercer and rainfall rarer, the water level has
dropped. Also, over the past decades, excess amount of water has been extracted
from the Jordan River for increasing population, crops, and livestock, which has
significantly reduced the water flow and shrunk the Dead Sea. As a result, the sea
level has been dropping by about one meter annually, and as a result, the surface
area has shrunk by approximately one-third. Also, the salt water has become too
salty to dissolve salt anymore, causing the undissolved salt to form solid
crystals and natural salt sculptures. It is an environmental disaster in slow
motion, which requires immediate attention and action. Unfortunately, the surrounding
countries, Israel and Jordan, are too busy dealing with regional conflicts and extracting
minerals from the brine to deal with the clear and present environmental danger.
How can we stop the Dead Sea from becoming a dead zone?
Read the article and learn how the world's saltiest water lake has been
changing.
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