Venting chimneys have been discovered on the floor of the Dead Sea. These previously unknown “white smokers” spew out salty water and provide early warning of sinkhole formation on nearby land.
The Dead Sea is sinking fast. Over the past 50 years, intense evaporation has resulted in it dropping by about 1 metre a year, with its surface now approximately 438 metres beneath sea level. This drop has opened up new fissures in the rock strata and researchers wanted to understand how this might be contributing to an alarming fall in freshwater aquifer levels seen in Israel, Jordan and the West Bank.
Divers were tasked with sampling underwater springs along the western banks of the Dead Sea. To their surprise, they discovered chimney structures measuring 2-3 metres across and up to 7 metres high, spewing out jets of white fluid. Lab analysis confirmed that the fluid originates from surrounding freshwater aquifers that penetrate salty sediments underlying the Dead Sea, dissolving the salt and venting a brine solution. The brine rapidly crystallises to form the chimneys, which can grow by as much as several centimetres in one day.
The research, which is published in Science of the Total Environment, indicates that clusters of fresh chimneys can provide early warning of where major sinkholes are likely to occur – an increasing and dangerous issue in the region.
