HOW THE DEAD SEA WORKS
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How does the Dead Sea work?

The Dead Sea certainly has an ominous name. But truthfully, thousands of people come every year just to see the body of water that has been named after death. And many of these visitors can’t, and shouldn’t, resist the urge to dip their toes in these waters to see what really is so mysterious and bleak about it. But the fact of the matter is, that you won’t see any looming Grim Reaper standing there. In fact, if you ever visit the Dead Sea and be one of the brave to test the waters, you’ll find that not only is this sea beautiful, but it’s filled with waters that many find to be particularly relaxing, and even healing. So, just how did the Dead Sea get its name, and how does it work?

The Dead Sea is located in the Jordan Rift Valley, and it’s surrounded by both Israel and Jordan. In total, the sea covers about 250 miles of area and, because the surface is 1,300 feet below sea level, the shore of the Dead Sea is actually the lowest driest place on Earth. But, the Dead Sea is much more interesting than just that. One of the most interesting things about the Dead Sea is that it is, of course, the saltiest body of water on Earth. While most of the Earth’s oceans and seas are only about 3 to 6 percent saline, the Dead Sea is about 28 to 35 percent saline.

The reason for the saltiness of the water is simple. The Dead Sea only has one main body of water flowing into it, and that’s the Jordan River. The Jordan River is thought to bring in about six and a half million tons of water every day. However, the Dead Sea is also surrounded by water on every side, with the exception of the one that the Jordan River flows into. Being landlocked like this, the water simply has nowhere else to go once it arrives at the Dead Sea. And the only way that water can leave the Dead Sea is through evaporation. Evaporation is easy as this part of the world is unbelievably hot. But as the water evaporates, the salt that was in that water stays behind, forever adding to the already enormous amount of salt in the water.

In total, there are about 35 salty minerals that contribute to the Dead Sea being so salty. Of these minerals, potassium, bromine, calcium, magnesium, and iodine are just a few. It’s these salty minerals that make it impossible for anything to live in the Dead Sea. Therefore if you were to ever visit, you wouldn’t see any fish, plants, coral, or even seaweed in the Dead Sea. The salty water, along with the effects of that salty water, are simply too much for any being to survive in. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t swim in the Dead Sea if you ever do take that visit.

Humans can do much more than survive in the Dead Sea. They can swim, float, and even throw around a beach ball if they choose! However, when you try to swim in the Dead Sea, you might find that it’s a little more difficult than swimming in a pool or even in the ocean. This is because the salt content in the water makes it much heavier than any other body of water on Earth. Because of this, if a person was to enter the Dead Sea, they would most likely find that they float rather than swim. The heaviness of the water is much heavier than even a large human body, and so that heaviness will simply push anything that enters it into the surface. So although you’ll be able to swim in the Deep Sea, you probably won’t be able to do any kind of deep sea diving – the water is just too heavy to allow you to do that.

However, even though you may be able to survive floating and swimming in the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself may not be able to survive for very much longer. This is because the sea is simply not getting the same amount of water being brought in by tributaries, as it used to. The Jordan River is the body of water that gives the Dead Sea most of its water. But this has changed today because people have built pipelines, dams, and reservoirs that have redirected the water that would once flow to the Dead Sea, and forced it to go to other areas.

While the Friends of the Earth organization in the Middle East is currently trying to stop this redirection of water, arguers for the redirection say that the amount of drought in the area is reason enough to use the water for something good, such as agricultural purposes. However, the lack of water in the Dead Sea is affecting more than just the Dead Sea itself. Experts also say that because there is simply not enough water in the Dead Sea, this is causing severe harm to the birds and other wildlife that are dependent on the Dead Sea.

The Palestinian, Israeli, and Jordanian governments are all governing bodies of the Dead Sea, and they have been actively working with Friends of the Earth to keep the Sea’s environmental integrity intact. One of the possible solutions would be to create a canal that could direct water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. However, some think that this could be detrimental to the sea water that currently makes up the Dead Sea, and that freshwater aquifers could also be damaged by an earthquake, should one ever occur.

And there’s definitely good reason to preserve what’s left of the Dead Sea. Its 35 minerals have very beneficial effects on those with health ailments. In fact, these minerals are so beneficial to those who suffer from certain conditions that a company by the name of Dead Sea Works has dedicated itself to harvesting the beneficial minerals from the water. These minerals and salts can help with various medical conditions such as psoriasis, dermatitis, arthritis, and fibromyalgia.

The Dead Sea Research Center also has a seven-step treatment plan for those that are looking to cure themselves of their conditions, with a little help from the Dead Sea. The person who wants the treatment is first advised to lie out on the banks of the Dead Sea. There’s no need to worry about harmful UV rays, because the atmospheric pressure in the area is so high that the rays cannot be filtered through. The treatment then proceeds to having a bath in the Sea itself, and then applying many emollient creams that are made using the very minerals and salts from the sea. This treatment is then followed by psychological counselling and follow-up consultations.

The Dead Sea though, and the areas surrounding it, also have other beneficial health effects. One of those is that the oxygen levels in the area are extremely high. Because of that, those who suffer from respiratory problems such as asthma find that they can breathe much easier when they’re in the area. For this reason, it’s a location that many people flock to when they want to get their respiratory problems under control without medication.

The Dead Sea is certainly something of an oxymoron. Even though no creature can maintain life within its waters, that doesn’t mean that what’s contained within those waters isn’t essential to life!

The Dead Sea