For about four decades, the Dead Sea (DS) level and the surrounding water table has been dropping... more For about four decades, the Dead Sea (DS) level and the surrounding water table has been dropping dramatically. At least from the eighties, the direct vicinity of the Lisan Peninsula (LP), Jordan, has been facing high rates of subsidence and sinkhole hazards. Between 2000 and 2002, the Arab Potash Company (APC) lost two salt evaporation ponds resulting in a loss of $70 million. In the fertile plain of Ghor al Haditha (GAH), three deep and wide bowl-shaped subsidence areas threaten human activities and infrastructures. Over the part of the Lisan Peninsula that emerged before the 1960s, relict fossil sinkholes occurred everywhere, whereas new collapses constantly appear in the southern area only. In this paper, we have integrated 15 years of field observations related to sinkholes and subsidence with interpretation of space borne radar interferometric outputs, aerial photographs and satellite images. This has helped to place hazardous areas in their geological context and to clarify them within the framework of the general tectonic setting of the area.
The level of the Dead Sea lowers 1 m/year and this rate is in acceleration. The decline is causin... more The level of the Dead Sea lowers 1 m/year and this rate is in acceleration. The decline is causing one of the major environmental disasters of the twenty-first century. The freshwater resources management policy of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine controls the phenomenon. Since the 1960s, the level of this terminal lake dropped by 28 m and its surface shrunk by one-third. In the 1990s, international builders created major tourist resorts and industrial plants along the Jordanian shore while, during the same period, geological hazards triggered by the level lowering spread out. From the very beginning of the year 2000, sinkholes, subsidence, landslides, and river erosion damaged infrastructures more and more frequently: dikes, bridges, roads, houses, factories, pipes, crops, etc. Until present, scientific articles about this ongoing disaster concerned only sinkholes and subsidence phenomena. This paper focuses on the landslides issue along the Jordanian coast. Based on a set of ground observations collected since 1999, the dynamics of the triggering factors in relation to the evolution of the hydro-geological setting is discussed. It is inferred that the recent industrial and tourist infrastructures never took into consideration the very important geotechnical constraints resulting from the Dead Sea lowering.
The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 20... more The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 2000, the dyke of a two-month old major salt evaporation pond, located along the shore of the Lisan Peninsula (Jordan), collapsed over almost two kilometers. The pond was set up over unstable new lands that have been progressively emerging during the last three decades. In one hour, 56 millions m3 of brine poured out into the northern, natural part of the Sea. Here, we present data suggesting that the drop of the water level, in conjunction with the particular tectonic setting of this area, is at least one of the factors that led to the disaster. We focused our study over the northern part of the Lisan Peninsula and Ghor Al Haditha which are two places undergoing the most intense deformations along the Jordanian Dead Sea coast. We used the results of a static high precision gravimetric survey to detect subsurface cavities in Ghor Al Haditha. We analyzed a interferometric digital terrain model of the recent emerged platform of the Lisan peninsula and interpreted radar differential interferograms contemporary with gravity measurements for the peninsula. We discuss the possibilities to detect, assess and monitor areas prone to collapse on the Jordanian side of the southern Dead Sea coast.
The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Se... more The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Sea’s precursory lakes. This tongue-shaped, emergent land results in a salt diapir uplifted in the Dead Sea strike-slip regional stress field and modified by the water level fluctuations of the last lake during the Holocene. These two elements, associated with dissolution caused by rainfall and groundwater circulation, resulted in an authentic karst system. Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea lowering of 80 cm to 1 m per year caused costly damages to the industrial plant set up on the peninsula. The Lisan karst system is described in this article and the components of the present dynamic setting clarified.
The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 20... more The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 2000, the dyke of a two-month old major salt evaporation pond, located along the shore of the Lisan Peninsula (Jordan), collapsed over almost two kilometers. The pond was set up over unstable new lands that have been progressively emerging during the last three decades. In one hour, 56 millions m3 of brine poured out into the northern, natural part of the Sea. Here, we present data suggesting that the drop of the water level, in conjunction with the particular tectonic setting of this area, is at least one of the factors that led to the disaster. We focused our study over the northern part of the Lisan Peninsula and Ghor Al Haditha which are two places undergoing the most intense deformations along the Jordanian Dead Sea coast. We used the results of a static high precision gravimetric survey to detect subsurface cavities in Ghor Al Haditha. We analyzed a interferometric digital terrain model of the recent emerged platform of the Lisan peninsula and interpreted radar differential interferograms contemporary with gravity measurements for the peninsula. We discuss the possibilities to detect, assess and monitor areas prone to collapse on the Jordanian side of the southern Dead Sea coast.
The Dead Sea is a terminal lake whose level is currently dropping at a rate of about 1 m per year... more 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.
Résumé/Abstract This paper discusses the interpretation of ground motions detected in the dried u... more Résumé/Abstract This paper discusses the interpretation of ground motions detected in the dried up Lynch Strait, Dead Sea area, by applying radar interferometric techniques to ALOS Palsar Synthetic Aperture Radar images. Four ALOS scenes spanning from December 15, ...
The purpose of this chapter is to allow uninformed readers to understand the situation in which t... more The purpose of this chapter is to allow uninformed readers to understand the situation in which the Red Sea–Dead Sea canal arose. The water policy in the Middle East is complex and some key elements are provided so that the reader understands (1) why Jordan is currently actively seeking a fresh water source based on the desalination of seawater of the Red Sea, (2) why the Palestinians (West Bank), who have large quantity of freshwater in their ground, are also looking for freshwater from the canal project, (3) why Israel is involved in this project while its water reserves allow it to do without that channel.
Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea level is dropping and the lake had already lost about 30% of its or... more Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea level is dropping and the lake had already lost about 30% of its original surface. The emerged new lands are characterized by their very high concentration of salt. The downward movement of the surrounding water tables and of the streams to accommodate the base level lowering lead to the development of a young coastal salt karst characterized by the proliferation of sinkholes, landslides, and subsidence. To evaluate the dynamic of the disequilibrium, interferometric processing was applied to 10 ALOS PALSAR satellite images spanning from November 2007 to December 2008 (6 ascending and 4 descending scenes). It is the first time that ALOS' L-Band (1257.5 MHz; wavelength 0.229 m) is used to extract relevant information on this environmental disaster. The work focuses on ground deformations affecting the Southern Dead Sea area with emphasis on the dried up Lynch Strait, one of the most dynamic zones over the borderline between Jordan and Israel. An affected area of about two kilometers long displays interferometric fringes indicating 3 maxima of subsidence. The major observed displacements (Image pair April 4 - May 17, 2008) are concomitant to two small earthquake events (Ml = 3.1 and Mw = 2.3) that shacked the place on April 13, 2008. The analysis of fringes pattern suggests that the deformations are not related to fault displacements but rather due to the dissolution of shallow salt levels along ancient tectonic lineaments. The earthquakes that have hit the Southern Dead Sea area since the lake level is dropping are not the sources of the weakness zones revealed by the alignments of sinkholes. Furthermore, the lack of accuracy in the hypocenters locations impedes the establishment of a robust correlation between karst development and seismic events. The alignment of sinkholes do not justify the alignment of the sources of ambient seismicity (M <4) and their depth. To make a possible correlation with seismic activity that would increase simply collapses, a precise location of the epicenter is needed.
The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Se... more The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Sea’s precursory lakes. This tongue-shaped, emergent land results in a salt diapir uplifted in the Dead Sea strike-slip regional stress field and modified by the water level fluctuations of the last lake during the Holocene. These two elements, associated with dissolution caused by rainfall and groundwater circulation, resulted in an authentic karst system. Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea lowering of 80 cm to 1 m per year caused costly damages to the industrial plant set up on the peninsula. The Lisan karst system is described in this article and the components of the present dynamic setting clarified.
For about four decades, the Dead Sea (DS) level and the surrounding water table has been dropping... more For about four decades, the Dead Sea (DS) level and the surrounding water table has been dropping dramatically. At least from the eighties, the direct vicinity of the Lisan Peninsula (LP), Jordan, has been facing high rates of subsidence and sinkhole hazards. Between 2000 and 2002, the Arab Potash Company (APC) lost two salt evaporation ponds resulting in a loss of $70 million. In the fertile plain of Ghor al Haditha (GAH), three deep and wide bowl-shaped subsidence areas threaten human activities and infrastructures. Over the part of the Lisan Peninsula that emerged before the 1960s, relict fossil sinkholes occurred everywhere, whereas new collapses constantly appear in the southern area only. In this paper, we have integrated 15 years of field observations related to sinkholes and subsidence with interpretation of space borne radar interferometric outputs, aerial photographs and satellite images. This has helped to place hazardous areas in their geological context and to clarify them within the framework of the general tectonic setting of the area.
The level of the Dead Sea lowers 1 m/year and this rate is in acceleration. The decline is causin... more The level of the Dead Sea lowers 1 m/year and this rate is in acceleration. The decline is causing one of the major environmental disasters of the twenty-first century. The freshwater resources management policy of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine controls the phenomenon. Since the 1960s, the level of this terminal lake dropped by 28 m and its surface shrunk by one-third. In the 1990s, international builders created major tourist resorts and industrial plants along the Jordanian shore while, during the same period, geological hazards triggered by the level lowering spread out. From the very beginning of the year 2000, sinkholes, subsidence, landslides, and river erosion damaged infrastructures more and more frequently: dikes, bridges, roads, houses, factories, pipes, crops, etc. Until present, scientific articles about this ongoing disaster concerned only sinkholes and subsidence phenomena. This paper focuses on the landslides issue along the Jordanian coast. Based on a set of ground observations collected since 1999, the dynamics of the triggering factors in relation to the evolution of the hydro-geological setting is discussed. It is inferred that the recent industrial and tourist infrastructures never took into consideration the very important geotechnical constraints resulting from the Dead Sea lowering.
The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 20... more The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 2000, the dyke of a two-month old major salt evaporation pond, located along the shore of the Lisan Peninsula (Jordan), collapsed over almost two kilometers. The pond was set up over unstable new lands that have been progressively emerging during the last three decades. In one hour, 56 millions m3 of brine poured out into the northern, natural part of the Sea. Here, we present data suggesting that the drop of the water level, in conjunction with the particular tectonic setting of this area, is at least one of the factors that led to the disaster. We focused our study over the northern part of the Lisan Peninsula and Ghor Al Haditha which are two places undergoing the most intense deformations along the Jordanian Dead Sea coast. We used the results of a static high precision gravimetric survey to detect subsurface cavities in Ghor Al Haditha. We analyzed a interferometric digital terrain model of the recent emerged platform of the Lisan peninsula and interpreted radar differential interferograms contemporary with gravity measurements for the peninsula. We discuss the possibilities to detect, assess and monitor areas prone to collapse on the Jordanian side of the southern Dead Sea coast.
The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Se... more The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Sea’s precursory lakes. This tongue-shaped, emergent land results in a salt diapir uplifted in the Dead Sea strike-slip regional stress field and modified by the water level fluctuations of the last lake during the Holocene. These two elements, associated with dissolution caused by rainfall and groundwater circulation, resulted in an authentic karst system. Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea lowering of 80 cm to 1 m per year caused costly damages to the industrial plant set up on the peninsula. The Lisan karst system is described in this article and the components of the present dynamic setting clarified.
The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 20... more The Dead Sea area is increasingly facing serious subsidence and sinkhole hazards. On March 22, 2000, the dyke of a two-month old major salt evaporation pond, located along the shore of the Lisan Peninsula (Jordan), collapsed over almost two kilometers. The pond was set up over unstable new lands that have been progressively emerging during the last three decades. In one hour, 56 millions m3 of brine poured out into the northern, natural part of the Sea. Here, we present data suggesting that the drop of the water level, in conjunction with the particular tectonic setting of this area, is at least one of the factors that led to the disaster. We focused our study over the northern part of the Lisan Peninsula and Ghor Al Haditha which are two places undergoing the most intense deformations along the Jordanian Dead Sea coast. We used the results of a static high precision gravimetric survey to detect subsurface cavities in Ghor Al Haditha. We analyzed a interferometric digital terrain model of the recent emerged platform of the Lisan peninsula and interpreted radar differential interferograms contemporary with gravity measurements for the peninsula. We discuss the possibilities to detect, assess and monitor areas prone to collapse on the Jordanian side of the southern Dead Sea coast.
The Dead Sea is a terminal lake whose level is currently dropping at a rate of about 1 m per year... more 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.
Résumé/Abstract This paper discusses the interpretation of ground motions detected in the dried u... more Résumé/Abstract This paper discusses the interpretation of ground motions detected in the dried up Lynch Strait, Dead Sea area, by applying radar interferometric techniques to ALOS Palsar Synthetic Aperture Radar images. Four ALOS scenes spanning from December 15, ...
The purpose of this chapter is to allow uninformed readers to understand the situation in which t... more The purpose of this chapter is to allow uninformed readers to understand the situation in which the Red Sea–Dead Sea canal arose. The water policy in the Middle East is complex and some key elements are provided so that the reader understands (1) why Jordan is currently actively seeking a fresh water source based on the desalination of seawater of the Red Sea, (2) why the Palestinians (West Bank), who have large quantity of freshwater in their ground, are also looking for freshwater from the canal project, (3) why Israel is involved in this project while its water reserves allow it to do without that channel.
Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea level is dropping and the lake had already lost about 30% of its or... more Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea level is dropping and the lake had already lost about 30% of its original surface. The emerged new lands are characterized by their very high concentration of salt. The downward movement of the surrounding water tables and of the streams to accommodate the base level lowering lead to the development of a young coastal salt karst characterized by the proliferation of sinkholes, landslides, and subsidence. To evaluate the dynamic of the disequilibrium, interferometric processing was applied to 10 ALOS PALSAR satellite images spanning from November 2007 to December 2008 (6 ascending and 4 descending scenes). It is the first time that ALOS' L-Band (1257.5 MHz; wavelength 0.229 m) is used to extract relevant information on this environmental disaster. The work focuses on ground deformations affecting the Southern Dead Sea area with emphasis on the dried up Lynch Strait, one of the most dynamic zones over the borderline between Jordan and Israel. An affected area of about two kilometers long displays interferometric fringes indicating 3 maxima of subsidence. The major observed displacements (Image pair April 4 - May 17, 2008) are concomitant to two small earthquake events (Ml = 3.1 and Mw = 2.3) that shacked the place on April 13, 2008. The analysis of fringes pattern suggests that the deformations are not related to fault displacements but rather due to the dissolution of shallow salt levels along ancient tectonic lineaments. The earthquakes that have hit the Southern Dead Sea area since the lake level is dropping are not the sources of the weakness zones revealed by the alignments of sinkholes. Furthermore, the lack of accuracy in the hypocenters locations impedes the establishment of a robust correlation between karst development and seismic events. The alignment of sinkholes do not justify the alignment of the sources of ambient seismicity (M <4) and their depth. To make a possible correlation with seismic activity that would increase simply collapses, a precise location of the epicenter is needed.
The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Se... more The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Sea’s precursory lakes. This tongue-shaped, emergent land results in a salt diapir uplifted in the Dead Sea strike-slip regional stress field and modified by the water level fluctuations of the last lake during the Holocene. These two elements, associated with dissolution caused by rainfall and groundwater circulation, resulted in an authentic karst system. Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea lowering of 80 cm to 1 m per year caused costly damages to the industrial plant set up on the peninsula. The Lisan karst system is described in this article and the components of the present dynamic setting clarified.
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