scholarly journals Tourism development challenges on the Dead Sea shore

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan A. Wendt
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Lake Water Level ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Resources Conservation ◽  
Tourist Economy ◽  
Tourism Flows

Abstract The Dead Sea along with Jerusalem belongs to one of the most well-known spots visited by tourists in Israel. Because of many factors, such as the water level of the Dead Sea at a depth of 430 m b.s.l. (in 2015), average salinity of 26%, hot springs and many healing salts located there, it is a unique tourist attraction on a global level. Its attractiveness is heightened by its proximity to other sites of interest, such as the Jewish fortress at Masada, Jericho, Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, as well as Petra, Madaba and Al-Karak on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea. High salinity and a microclimate create perfect conditions for the development of health resorts and medical tourism. Extracting healing salts from its waters for the needs of the chemical industry is important for both the economy and medical tourism. However, as a consequence of the agricultural and urban use of the waters of the River Jordan, which flows into the Dead Sea, a persistent decrease in the lake water level has been observed over the last century. This has created a number of economic and political issues. The problems which still have to be resolved are associated with the Red Sea-Dead Sea Conduit (Canal), the division of Jordan’s water resources, conservation of the unique reservoir of the Dead Sea and the threat of hindering the development of tourism within the region. The presentation of these issues is the main aim of this research paper. The study is based on the analysis of changes in tourism flows, results of research studies and the prognosis of changes in the water level of the Dead Sea. It presents an assessment of the effects of this phenomenon on the tourist economy. At the current level of tourism flows within the region, the tourist capacity of local beaches will be exceeded in areas where the most popular tourist resorts are located. Increased expenditure on development of tourism infrastructure in the coastal zone can also be observed. The predicted decreasing water level will result in further modifications and expansion of tourism infrastructure, decreased accessibility to the coastline for tourists, increased costs of visiting and may lead to an ecological disaster.

An assessment of the Dead Sea level change using remotely sensed data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Musab Mbideen ◽  
Balázs Székely
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Spectral Radiance ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Atmospheric Effects ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
The Dead

<p>Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) instruments have spread rapidly in recent years to manage natural resources and monitor environmental changes. Remote sensing has a vast range of applications; one of them is lakes monitoring. The Dead Sea (DS) is subjected to very strong evaporation processes, leading to a remarkable shrinkage of its water level. The DS is being dried out due to a negative balance in its hydrological cycle during the last five decades. This research aims to study the spatial changes in the DS throughout the previous 48 years. Change detection technique has been performed to detect this change over the research period (1972-2020). 73 Landsat imageries have been used from four digital sensors; Landsat 1-5 MSS C1 Level-1, Landsat 4-5 TM C1 Level-1, Land sat 7 ETM+ C1  Level-1, and Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS C1 Level. After following certain selection criteria , the number of studied images decreased. Furthermore, the Digital Surface Model of the Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and a bathymetric map of the Dead Sea were used. The collected satellite imageries were pre-processed and normalized using ENVI 5.3 software by converting the Digital Number (DN) to spectral radiance, the spectral radiance was converted to apparent reflectance, atmospheric effects were removed, and finally, the black gaps were removed. It was important to distinguish between the DS lake and the surrounding area in order to have accurate results, this was done by performing classification techniques. The digital terrain model of the DS was used in ArcGIS (3D) to reconstruct the elevation of the shore lines. This model generated equations to detect the water level, surface area, and water volume of the DS. The results were compared to the bathymetric data as well. The research shows that the DS water level declined 65 m (1.35 m/a) in the studied period. The surface area and the water volume declined by 363.56 km<sup>2 </sup>(7.57 km<sup>2</sup>/a) and 53.56 km<sup>3</sup> (1.11 km<sup>3</sup>/a), respectively. The research also concluded that due to the bathymetry of the DS, the direction of this shrinkage is from the south to the north. We hypothesize that anthropogenic effects have contributed in the shrinkage of the DS more than the climate. The use of the DS water by both Israel and Jordan for industrial purposes is the main factor impacting the DS, another factor is the diversion of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers. Our results also allow to give a prediction for the near future of the DS: the water level is expected to reach –445 m in 2050, while the surface area and the water volume is expected to be 455 km<sup>2</sup> and 142 km<sup>3</sup>, respectively. </p>

scholarly journals SALT LAKES OF THE WEST KAZAKHSTAN REGION AS OBJECTS OF MEDICAL TOURISM

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2spl) ◽  
pp. 637-645
Author(s):  
Kazhmurat M. AKHMEDENOV ◽  
◽  
Rysty A. KHALELOVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Genetic Type ◽  
Salt Lakes ◽  
The West ◽  
Western Kazakhstan ◽  
The Dead ◽  
West Kazakhstan ◽  
Recreational Use

West Kazakhstan region is also rich in unique balneological hydromineral resources. The aim of the study was to review the studied, as well as little-known and promising, salt lakes of West Kazakhstan region, which have hydromineral resources suitable for balneological and recreational use is given. As a result of the field and laboratory researches in 2017-2020, 7 promising balneological sites were studied – the Lakes Bolshoy Sor, the Alzhansor, the Sorkol, the Hakisor, the Aralsor, the Edilbaysor, the Koysarysor. It was established that the studied peloids correspond to the genetic type of mainland silt mineral (sulphide) therapeutic mud typical of arid regions. According to the main indicators, the studied peloids are generally suitable for use in recreational, therapeutic and medical purposes, and in terms of the content of salts and therapeutically valuable components, they are not inferior to the medical mud of the resorts of Western Kazakhstan and the Dead Sea recognized in balneological practice.

Dead Sea Water Levels Analysis Using Artificial Neural Networks and Firefly Algorithm

2022 ◽  
pp. 1118-1129
Author(s):  
Nawaf N. Hamadneh
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Firefly Algorithm ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Predicted Values

In this study, the performance of adaptive multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) for predicting the Dead Sea water level is discussed. Firefly Algorithm (FFA), as an optimization algorithm is used for training the neural networks. To propose the MLPNN-FFA model, Dead Sea water levels over the period 1810–2005 are applied to train MLPNN. Statistical tests evaluate the accuracy of the hybrid MLPNN-FFA model. The predicted values of the proposed model were compared with the results obtained by another method. The results reveal that the artificial neural network (ANN) models exhibit high accuracy and reliability for the prediction of the Dead Sea water levels. The results also reveal that the Dead Sea water level would be around -450 until 2050.

Boron isotope geochemistry as a tracer for the evolution of brines and associated hot springs from the Dead Sea, Israel

1991 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 1689-1695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avner Vengosh ◽  
Abraham Starinsky ◽  
Yehoshua Kolodny ◽  
Allan R Chivas
Keyword(s):  
Hot Springs ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Boron Isotope ◽  
The Dead

Gypsum saturation degrees and precipitation potentials from Dead Sea - seawater mixtures

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itay J. Reznik ◽  
Jiwchar Ganor ◽  
Assaf Gal ◽  
Ittai Gavrieli
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Theoretical Calculations ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Gypsum Precipitation ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Rate Of Decline ◽  
The 1960S

Environmental context. Since the 1960s the Dead Sea water level has dropped by nearly 30 m and over the last decade the rate of decline accelerated to over 1 m per year. Conveying seawater to the Dead Sea to stabilise or even raise its water level is currently being considered but may result in ‘whitening’ of the surface water through the formation of minute gypsum crystals that will remain suspended in the water column for a prolonged period of time. This paper is a first step in attaining the relevant physical and chemical parameters required to assess the potential for such whitening of the Dead Sea. Abstract. Introduction of seawater to the Dead Sea (DS) to stabilise its level raises paramount environmental questions. A major concern is that massive nucleation and growth of minute gypsum crystals will occur as a result of mixing between the SO42–-rich Red Sea (RS) water and Ca2+-rich DS brine. If the gypsum will not settle quickly to the bottom it may influence the general appearance of the DS by ‘whitening’ the surface water. Experimental observations and theoretical calculations of degrees of saturation with respect to gypsum (DSG) and gypsum precipitation potentials (PPT) were found to agree well, over the large range but overall high ionic strength of DS–RS mixtures. The dependency of both DSG and PPT on temperature was examined as well. Based on our thermodynamic insights, slow discharge of seawater to the DS will result in a relatively saline upper water column which will lead to enhanced gypsum precipitation.

Long-term prediction of the water level and salinity in the Dead Sea

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (14) ◽  
pp. 2819-2831 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. N. Asmar ◽  
Peter Ergenzinger
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Term Prediction ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Long Term Prediction

Variation of the Chemistry of the Dead Sea Brine as Consequence of the Decreasing Water Level

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-135
Author(s):  
Jamal Abu-Qubu ◽  
Broder Merkel ◽  
Volkmar Dunger ◽  
Omar Rimawi
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
The Dead

scholarly journals Sharp changes in lake-levels preconditioning seismogenic mass failures in the Dead Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Lu ◽  
Amotz Agnon ◽  
Shmuel Marco ◽  
Revital Bookman ◽  
Nicolas Waldmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Age Dating ◽  
Lake Level Changes ◽  
Mass Failure ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Subaqueous mass failures that comprise slides, slumps and debris flows are a major process that transport sediments from the continental shelf and upper slope to the deep basins (both oceans and lacustrine settings). They are often viewed together with other natural hazards such as earthquakes, and can have serious socioeconomic consequences. It is increasingly important to understand the relationship between mass failures and climate-driven factors such as changes in water-level. Despite extensive marine investigations on this topic world-wide, the relationship between changes in water-level and mass failures is still highly disputed. This is due largely to the significant uncertainties in age dating and different potential triggers and preconditioning factors of mass failure events from different geological settings. Here, we present a 70 kyr-long record of mass failure from the Dead Sea Basin center (ICDP Core 5017-1). This sedimentary sequence has been dated in high accuracy (±0.6 kyr) and has similar responses to climate forcing. Moreover, the mass failure record is interpreted to be controlled by a single trigger mechanism (i.e. seismicity).<br>Based on the recent detailed study on the sedimentological signature of seismic shaking in the Dead Sea center, these seismogenic mass failures (seismites) account only for a part of the whole seismites catalog, suggesting that mass failure follows only part of seismic shaking irrespective of intensities of the shaking. This is evidenced by the common absence of mass failures following the in situ developed and preserved seismites (e.g., the in situ folded layer and intraclast breccias layer) which represent different intensities of seismic shaking. This feature implies that some non-seismic factor(s) must have preconditioned for the seismogenic mass failures in the Dead Sea center.<br>Our observations reveal decoupling between change in sedimentation rates and occurrence probability of these seismogenic mass failures, thus suggesting that a change in sedimentation rate is not the preconditioning factor for the failure events. While 79% of seismogenic mass failure events occurred during lake-level rise/drop in contrast to 21% events occurred in the quiescent intervals between. Our dataset implies that seismogenic mass failures can occur at any lake-level state, but are more likely to occur during lake-level rise/drop due to the instability of the basin margins. In addition, the seismogenic mass failures occurred more frequently during glacials (characterized by highstand and high-amplitude lake-level changes) than during interglacials, as a result of the morphologic characteristics of the lake margin slopes and different lithologies (e.g. halite) influences which are both connected to the glacial-interglacial lake-level changes.</p>

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