dead sea

Coordinates :31°20′N 35°30′ECoordinates: 31°20′N 35°30′E
Lake type :endorheic
hypersaline
Primary inflows :Jordan River
Primary outflows :none
Catchment area :41,650 km2 (16,080 sq mi)
Basin countries :Jordan & Israel

Max. length :67 km (42 mi)
Max. width :18 km (11 mi)
Surface area :810 km2 (310 sq mi)
North Basin
Average depth :118 m (387 ft)[1]
Max. depth :378 m (1,240 ft)
Water volume :147 km3 (35 cu mi)
Shore length1 :135 km (84 mi)
Surface elevation :−422 m (−1,385 ft)

Chemistry of daed sea

Until the winter of 1978-79, when a major mixing event took place, the Dead Sea was composed of two stratified layers of water that differed in temperature, density, age, and salinity. The topmost 35 metres (115 ft) or so of the Dead Sea had a salinity that ranged between 300 and 400 parts per thousand and a temperature that swung between 19 °C (66.2 °F) and 37 °C (98.6 °F). Underneath a zone of transition, the lowest level of the Dead Sea had waters of a consistent 22 °C (71.6 °F) temperature and complete saturation of sodium chloride (NaCl). Since the water near the bottom is saturated, the salt precipitates out of solution onto the sea floor.

Beginning in the 1960s water inflow to the Dead Sea from the Jordan River was reduced as a result of large-scale irrigation and generally low rainfall. By 1975 the upper water layer of the Dead Sea was saltier than the lower layer. Nevertheless, the upper layer remained suspended above the lower layer because its waters were warmer and thus less dense. When the upper layer finally cooled down so that its density was greater than the lower layer the waters of the Dead Sea mixed (1978-79). For the first time in centuries the lake was a homogeneous body of water. Since then stratification has begun to redevelop.

A rough Dead Sea, with salt deposits on cliffs.

The mineral content of the Dead Sea is very different from that of ocean water. The exact composition of the Dead Sea water varies mainly with season, depth and temperature. In the early 1980s the concentration of ionic species (in g/kg) of Dead Sea surface water was Cl− (181.4), Br− (4.2), SO42− (0.4), HCO3− (0.2), Ca2+ (14.1), Na+ (32.5), K+ (6.2) and Mg2+ (35.2). The total salinity was 276 g/kg.[9] These results show that w/w% composition of the salt, as anhydrous chlorides, was calcium chloride (CaCl2) 14.4%, potassium chloride (KCl) 4.4%, magnesium chloride (MgCl2) 50.8% and sodium chloride (common salt, NaCl) 30.4%. In comparison, the salt in the water of most oceans and seas is approximately 97% sodium chloride. The concentration of sulfate ions (SO42−) is very low, and the concentration of bromide ions (Br−) is the highest of all waters on Earth.

The salt concentration of the Dead Sea fluctuates around 31.5%. This is unusually high and results in a nominal density of 1.24 kg/L. Anyone can easily float in the Dead Sea because of natural buoyancy. In this respect the Dead Sea is similar to the Great Salt Lake in Utah in the United States.

One of the most unusual features of the Dead Sea is its discharge of asphalt. From deep seeps, the Dead Sea constantly spits up small pebbles of the black substance. After earthquakes, chunks as large as houses have been found.