Human-induced geological hazards along the Dead Sea coast
Autor: | Damien Closson, N. Abou Karaki |
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Rok vydání: | 2008 |
Předmět: |
Hydrology
Shore geography geography.geographical_feature_category Groundwater flow Sinkhole General Engineering Aquifer Karst Water level Oceanography Tributary Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Geologic hazards General Earth and Planetary Sciences Environmental Chemistry Geology General Environmental Science Water Science and Technology |
Zdroj: | Environmental Geology. 58:371-380 |
ISSN: | 1432-0495 0943-0105 |
Popis: | 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. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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