Human-induced geological hazards along the Dead Sea coast |
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| Authors: | D Closson N Abou Karaki |
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| Institution: | (1) Royal Military Academy, Signal and Image Centre, Brussels, Belgium;(2) Environmental and Applied Geology Department, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan |
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| Abstract: | The Dead Sea is a terminal lake whose level is currently dropping at a rate of about 1 m per year due to the over exploitation
of all its tributaries. The lowering started about four decades ago but geological hazards appeared more and more frequently
from the end of the 1980s. The water level lowering is matched by a parallel groundwater level drop, which results in an increasing
intensity of underground and surface water flow. The diagonal interface between the Dead Sea brine and the fresh groundwater
is pushed downwards and seawards. Nowadays, sinkholes, subsidence, landslides and reactivated salt-karsts affect wide coastal
segments. Until now, mainly infrastructures were damaged and few people/animals were injured, but the ongoing development
of tourism in this very attractive situation will increase the risk if precautionary measures are not included in the development
plans. This paper discusses the main observations made all around the Dead Sea and shed a light on the differences between
the geological hazards of the western shore (Israel, Palestinian Authority) and the eastern shore (Jordan). It is the first
attempt to bring together an overview of the human-induced geological hazards encountered along the Dead Sea coast. |
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| Keywords: | Dead Sea Sinkholes Subsidence Landslides |
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