The Dead Sea is shrinking. Its water level is decreasing at accelerating rates ( about 1.4 m/yr in 2017) . It has already lost a third of its surface, patrs of its coastal areas are subject to sinkholes that are proliferating in swarms. What can science do to help coping with such environmental disasters??
Hello Prof
I did not realise the enormity of the situation, and after reading your question, I looked at your ResearchGate page, then searched further, to see what solutions others have suggested.
I'm sure that you will be aware of the following, but have included some of what I found below, for other readers who are as uninformed as I was. The first three have the main discussion re this topic near the end:
http://www.dw.com/en/can-the-dying-dead-sea-be-saved/a-38039908
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36477284
https://www.ft.com/content/c9a188c4-bad1-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5862
http://sustainablefootprint.org/teachers/theme-lessons/the-dead-sea/
You asked 'what can science do?' It probably varies greatly depending on what the environmental disaster is, and the enormity of it. On a general level, perhaps, is to publicise the problem while working on each individual instance. I expect finance and also politics are always a problem, but saving natural phenomena should be placed at the top of the agenda.
Very best wishes,
Mary
Dear Professor :
Thank you for your stimulating and inspiring answer, , the Dead Sea is indeed, a unique cultural heritage for humanity, it is worth saving, hense certainly worth trying to explore the best ways to do so. All the best from Amman.
Is there any way to pipe water into the Dead Sea from another body of water? And how much would this cost?
The closets way to realization is the so called Red-Dead ( from the Red Sea in the South to the Dead Sea in the North) the full scale project is costly, probably exceeding several billions of US $. However, this is not going to provide an instantaneous way of solving the Dead Sea problems. An intermediary periode of decades is necessary to limit the consequences of the already ongoing deterioration in the Dead Sea area, as much as possible.
The full lecture at the world scientific forum conference 2017 with the same title..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x15KeokjPfo
- Badges
- Science topic