Abstract
The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. Observational evidence has been obtained of unexpected short-term water heating in the 2 m uppermost layer of this hypersaline lake, following a sharp drop in solar radiation under weak winds. This was carried out using Dead Sea buoy measurements. Passing frontal cloudiness mixed with significant dust pollution over the Judean Mountains and the Dead Sea, which occurred on March 22, 2013, led to a dramatic drop in noon solar radiation from 860 W m−2 to 50 W m−2. This drop in solar radiation caused a short-term (1-hour) pronounced temperature rise in the uppermost layer of the sea down to 2 m depth. After the sharp drop in noon solar radiation, in the absence of water mixing, buoy measurements showed that the temperature rise in the uppermost layer of the Dead Sea took place for a shorter time and was more pronounced than the temperature rise under the regular diurnal solar cycle. The water heating could be explained by gravitational instability in the skin-surface layer, when the warm surface water with the increased salinity and density submerged, thereby increasing temperature in the layers below.
Highlights
The Dead Sea, a unique place on Earth, is located at approximately 415 m below sea level
We focused on observational evidence of a phenomenon of
In our study we present observational evidence of an unexpected short-term (1-hour) pronounced temperature rise in the uppermost layer of the Dead Sea under weak winds: 320 this followed a sharp drop in solar radiation due to clouds mixed with significant dust pollution over the region on 22 March 2013
Summary
The Dead Sea, a unique place on Earth, is located at approximately 415 m below sea level. This hypersaline terminal lake is 67 km long, up to 18 km wide, and 300m in depth at its deepest point [1, 2]. The Dead Sea lies within one of a series of basins. The Dead Sea is surrounded by the Judean Mountains to the west and by the Moab Mountains to the east (Fig. 1). This area is characterized by changeable meteorological conditions, by unsteady winds blowing along or across the valley. These winds were more prevalent in the winter than in the summer
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