DEAD SEA OBSERVATORY

We are a research team (part of the Geological Survey of Israel) exploring the dynamics of the Dead Sea: from evaporation at the lake’s surface, through the limnological processes within the water column, to the active formation of salt layers at the lake’s bottom. The Dead Sea, a deep hypersaline lake subjected to negative water balance that precipitates salt layers, is a unique aquatic system on Earth today, but the presence of salt layers (up to a few kilometers in thickness) in sedimentary basins suggests that these were common aquatic environments in the past. In order to understand the processes and hydroclimatic conditions related to the formation of these layers, the Dead Sea is probably the best starting point. In addition, the Dead Sea vicinity is a multi-setting natural laboratory for rare exploration of geomorphic responses to base level fall.
Our team's aim is to quantify the active processes of: