Dead Sea drying: A new low-point for Earth
Source: BBC
Dead Sea drying: A new low-point for Earth
By Kevin Connolly
BBC Middle East correspondent
16 June 2016 Middle East
The Dead Sea, the salty lake located at the lowest point on Earth, is gradually shrinking under the heat of the Middle Eastern sun. For those who live on its shores it's a slow-motion crisis - but finding extra water to sustain the sea will be a huge challenge.
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But the Dead Sea is also a unique ecosystem and a sensitive barometer of the state of the environment in a part of the world where an arid climate and the need to irrigate farms combine to create a permanent shortage of water.
You may have read that the Dead Sea is dying. You can see why the idea appeals to headline writers but it isn't quite true.
As the level drops, the density and saltiness are rising and will eventually reach a point where the rate of evaporation will reach a kind of equilibrium. So it might get a lot smaller, but it won't disappear entirely.
It is however shrinking at an alarming rate - the surface level is dropping more than a metre (3ft) a year.
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Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36477284
