Dead Sea sinkholes - an ever-developing hazard

Arkin, Yaacov; Gilat, Arie

doi:10.1007/s002540050485

Cited by 81 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The Dead Sea sinkholes have been previously attributed to subsurface turbulent flow, creating underground voids by erosional piping (Arkin 1993;Arkin and Michaeli 1995;Arkin and Gilat 2000). However, this mechanism is not compatible with the following observations:…”

Section: Collapse Associated With Phreatic and Confined Salt Dissolutcontrasting

confidence: 53%

Collapse and subsidence associated with salt karstification along the Dead Sea

Frumkin

Raz

2001

Carbonates Evaporites

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Two types ofsinkholes are observed along the Dead Sea shore, Israel. The first is associated with vadose dissolution in Mount Sedom salt diapir. The second is associated with dissolution under the watertable along the retreating Dead Sea shore. The Dead Sea level is falling dramatically, mainly because of human activity. Simultaneously, the lake shores suffer tremendous impact since the late 1980s: The ground is collapsing and subsiding in hundreds of points along the lake, with people, roads and property being swallowed in the more catastrophic events. The collapse is believed to result from dissolution of salt by aggressive groundwater, following the retreat of Dead Sea level and the groundwater halocline. Geological evidence suggests that a previous major lake level fall occurred naturally -2000 BCE. This may provide a new explanation for a curious historical-geological phrase in the book of Genesis, suggested to record formation of collapse sinkholes which occurred in response to the historic falling lake level, associated with climatic desiccation.

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Section: Collapse Associated With Phreatic and Confined Salt Dissolutcontrasting

confidence: 53%

Collapse and subsidence associated with salt karstification along the Dead Sea

Frumkin

Raz

2001

Carbonates Evaporites

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“…At the first stage of DS sinkhole investigations a hypothesis of washing out mechanism was suggested (Arkin & Gilat, 2000). Three main types of sinkholes have been recognized.…”

Section: Piping Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have studied the soil and salt properties both in situ and laboratory conditions. Arkin & Gilat (2000) have selected three types of sinkholes: (1) gravel holes occurring in alluvial fans, (2) mud holes developing in the mudflats between fans, and (3) a combination of both types that are formed at the front of young alluvial fans where they overlap mud flats. Therefore, two types of lithology and salt cores were studied in laboratory and in-situ conditions to reveal geotechnical and geophysical properties of DS soils.…”

Section: Ds Soils and Their Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview of the geophysical studies in the Dead Sea coastal area related to evaporite karst and recent sinkhole development

Ezersky¹,

Legchenko²,

Eppelbaum³

et al. 2017

IJS

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Abstract:Since the early 80s, a progressively increasing number of sinkholes appeared along the Dead Sea coastal line. It has been found that their appearance is strongly correlating with the lowering of the Dead Sea level taking place with the rate of approximately 1 m/yr. Location of areas affected by sinkhole development corresponds to location of the salt formation deposited during the latest Pleistocene, when the Lake Lisan receded to later become the Dead Sea. Water flowing to the Dead Sea from adjacent and underlying aquifers dissolves salt and creates caverns that cause ground subsidence and consequent formation of sinkholes. Before subsidence, these caverns are not visible on the surface but can be investigated with surface geophysical methods. For that, we applied Surface Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SNMR), Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) Seismic refraction and reflection, Multichannel Analysis of Surface waves (MASW), microgravity and magnetic surveys and their combinations. Our geophysical results allowed us to locate the salt formation and to detect caverns in salt thus contributing to better understanding sinkhole development mechanisms. Comparison of sinkhole appearance along the western DS shore derived from the recent database (2017) shows that predictions made on the base of geophysical data (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) are now confirmed thus demonstrating efficiency of our study. In this paper, we briefly present a summary of up to date knowledge of the geology and hydrogeology of Dead Sea basin, of the physical properties of the salt rock and the most popular models explaining mechanisms of sinkhole development. We also share our experience gained during geophysical studies carried out in the framework of national and international research projects in this area for the last 20 years.Dead Sea, evaporate karst, geophysics, sinkholes Ezersky M.G., Legchenko A., Eppelbaum L. and Al-Zoubi A., 2017. Overview of the geophysical studies in the Dead Sea coastal area related to evaporite karst and recent sinkhole development.

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“…By now, the number of sinkholes along the western side of the Dead Sea exceeds 1,000, and is increasing. The sinkholes were studied by several workers, e.g., Arkin and Gilat (2000), Abelson et al (2006), Zilberman-Kron (2008) and documented in several issues published by the Geological Survey of Israel. The appearance of the sinkholes has been related by most researchers to the drop, and consequent migration, of the subsurface brine-freshwater interface eastward, lagging behind the receding lake.…”

Section: The Sinkhole Storymentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical History of the Dead Sea

Katz

Starinsky

2008

Aquat Geochem

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A Southward view of the Dead Sea western coast. The steep western escarpment of the Dead Sea basin, composed mainly of Upper Cretaceous limestone and dolomite, can be seen on the right. Beach terraces left by the shrinking lake run parallel to the shore. The larger part of the area between the present water line and the mountains was still under Dead Sea water just 50-60 years ago. The current fall of the lake's stand is around 1 m year -1 . Three on-shore sinkholes can be seen in the front of the photo, as well as two submerged ones near its lower left corner. These were caused by dissolution of a Holocene salt layer located tens of meters below the surface, resulting in the collapse of the overlying sediments. The retreat of the Dead Sea in recent years was followed by eastward migration of the freshwater-brine interface. This in turn brought diluted groundwater in contact with the subsurface salt layer, triggering its dissolution, and is considered as the culprit of the spreading phenomenon. Many sinkholes contain brine that was left over by the receding Dead Sea and was trapped within the surrounding sediments. Once inside a sinkhole, these brines evolve chemically by evaporation to various degrees. The difference in color between the brine in the onshore sinkholes reflects salinity-related differences in their biology.Abstract The evolution of the Dead Sea basin (DSB) brines from their birth in a Pliocene lagoon to their accommodation in the Dead Sea is described and discussed. The history of the brines is divided into two periods, corresponding to the successive depositional environments that prevailed in the DSB, namely a marine lagoon and an inland saline lake. Ancient Mediterranean seawater, supplied into the DSB lagoon through an inland channel from the north, was concentrated by evaporation into the halite field. The resulting Mg-enriched solution dolomitized surrounding, upper Cretaceous limestone, losing most of its Mg 2? to the limestone in exchange for Ca 2? . Cretaceous marine Sr 2? , concurrently released from the limestone into the brine, lowered its (Pliocene time) 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios. Consequently, a Ca-chloridic solution with lowered 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios was formed. Frequently changing conditions along the active Dead Sea rift enabled back-flow of the Ca-chloridic brines to the DSB, where they mixed with fresh seawater, unloading into the mixture their limestone-Sr. This process is reflected by the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios (0.7082-0.7087) in the lagoon's gypsum, dolomite, aragonite, and halite, which is intermediate between that of Pliocene seawater (0.709) and that in the upper Cretaceous limestone (0.7074-0.7077). Disconnection of the lagoon from the ancient Mediterranean brought about its end, and opened the (ongoing) lacustrine chapter of the DSB, without interrupting the reflux of Ca-chloride brine back into the basin. By that time, the chloridic brines processed by the lagoon became locked in a large, almost closed system reservoir in the DSB and vicinity. We propose that a Ca-chloridic la...

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Dead Sea sinkholes - an ever-developing hazard

Cited by 81 publications

References 10 publications

Collapse and subsidence associated with salt karstification along the Dead Sea

Collapse and subsidence associated with salt karstification along the Dead Sea

Overview of the geophysical studies in the Dead Sea coastal area related to evaporite karst and recent sinkhole development

Geochemical History of the Dead Sea

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