Karst Dynamics Revealed by Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Technique

The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest lakes in the world with a concentration of halite and gypsum ten times higher than in the oceans. Its size is about 80 km long and 15 kilometers wide. Jordan, Israel and the PNA divided its shore in the following proportions: 60%, 25% and 15% respectively. The prevailing climatic conditions are of arid type and allow salt crystals to grow in the open air. The Dead Sea occupies the bottom of one of the pull-apart basins that punctuate the Jordan-Dead Sea strike-slip fault. The Dead Sea is composed of a northern and of a southern sub-basin. For centuries, they are separated by an emerging salt diapir (Lisan area) and connected by the shallow Lynch strait. However, since about 30 years, the southern sub-basin and the strait are dried-up (Figure 1). Indeed, since about 50 years the Dead Sea water level is dropping due to over pumping of its tributaries, especially the Jordan River. During the 1980's, early sinkholes and subsidence occurred. Currently they number several thousand.