Israeli researchers make Dead Sea safer place

JERUSALEM - A team of Israeli researchers have developed a system to predict formation of dangerous Dead Sea sinkholes through a satellite system, thus making the area safer for visitors and workers.

These sinkholes are formed when the water recedes in the Dead Sea and the non-salty underground water dissolves the thick layer of salt underneath the surface, creating huge cavities that collapse.

Now, with the help of the Italian earth-observation satellite system Cosmo Sky-Med, researchers can predict months ahead where these pits will form, Ha'aretz daily news reported.

"The radar waves broadcast by the satellite allow us to decode changes in the earth's surface within millimeters. In this way we can analyze processes occurring on the surface before a sinkhole appears," Dr. Gideon Baer of the Geological Survey of Israel told the newspaper.

Now, Baer and the rest of the research team are able to map out the area to point out where the sink holes are likely to form and where they have already appeared.