Delayed subsidence of the Dead Sea shore due to hydro-meteorological changes,
S. Vey, D. Al-Halbouni, F. Alshawaf, A. Guntner, G. Dick, M. Ramatschi, J. Wickert, M. Weber
Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, GFZ, Potsdam, Germany
M. Haghshenas
Leibniz University Hanover, Hanover, Germany
J. Vullers
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
P. Teatini
Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering,
University of Padova, Padova, Italy
ABSTRACT
Many studies show the sensitivity of our environment to manmade changes, especially the
anthropogenic impact on atmospheric and hydrological processes. The effect on Solid Earth processes
such as subsidence is less straightforward. Subsidence is usually slow and relates to the interplay
of complex hydro-mechanical processes, thus making relations to atmospheric changes difficult to
observe. In the Dead Sea (DS) region, however, climatic forcing is strong and over-use of fresh water
is massive. An observation period of 3 years was thus sufficient to link the high evaporation (97
cm/year) and the subsequent drop of the Dead Sea lake level (-110 cm/year), with high subsidence rates
of the Earth's surface (-15 cm/year). Applying innovative Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
techniques, we are able to resolve this subsidence of the "Solid Earth" even on a monthly basis and
show that it behaves synchronous to atmospheric and hydrological changes with a time lag of two
months. We show that the amplitude and fluctuation period of ground deformation is related to poroelastic
hydro-mechanical soil response to lake level changes. This provides, to our knowledge, a first
direct link between shore subsidence, lake-level drop and evaporation.
