A pool of water located close to the Dead Sea in the biblical region of Moab - modern day Jordan - has mysteriously turned blood red.
Water from the red lagoon just inside the Jordanian border is being sampled by workers from Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation to determine the cause of the unsettling phenomenon which is as yet unexplained.
The images have sparked a furore on social media, with blood red waters carrying much significance in the Old Testament as one of the 10 plagues Moses cast upon the Pharaoh of Egypt to free the Jews from slavery.
The eastern shores of the Dead Sea where the blood red pond is located also happens to be where the two legendary cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood before they were supposedly destroyed by God for their 'wickedness'.
A pool of water located close to the Dead Sea in the biblical region of Moab - modern day Jordan - has mysteriously turned blood red
Water from the red lagoon just inside the Jordanian border is being sampled by workers from Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation to determine the cause of the unsettling phenomenon which is as yet unexplained
The eastern shores of the Dead Sea where the blood red pond is located also happens to be where the two legendary cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood before they were supposedly destroyed by God for their 'wickedness (pictured: Sodom and Gomorrah afire, by Jacob Jacobsz)
The head of the Water and Agriculture Committee of the Al-Karak Council, Fathi Al-Huwaimel, said that the authorities have been contacted to work on identifying the source of the water.
But although the cause of the mysterious crimson waters remains unknown for now according to Jordan's ministry spokesperson Omar Salameh, a few theories have been posited as to why a lagoon isolated from fresh water could suddenly change colour.
Director of Agriculture in the Southern Jordan Valley, Yassin al-Kasasbeh, told Roya News that this phenomenon is found in ponds close to seas due to the presence of a certain type of a bacteria and red algae that love salinity, which changes its colour with the presence of sunlight.
But this does not explain why the water suddenly turned red while other pools have not displayed the same phenomenon, particularly given that the region experiences near year-round sunny skies.
Other officials told Israel Today that the presence of iron oxide in the water could account for the strange colour change, but again did not give an explanation as to how the iron oxide would have been introduced to the pool, and why the colour change happened so rapidly.
Meanwhile, Sakhr Al-Nusour, the head of the Jordanian Geologists Syndicate, told the Al Ghad news that the red colour could have been caused by the addition of substances by humans.
This viewpoint was shared by many Jordanians who accused the government of covering up a source of pollution or their use of the pool as a dumping ground for waste chemicals.
As a large body of salt water, the shores of the Dead Sea glitter with crystallized sodium chloride
The Dead Sea is a salt lake located in the Judean desert of southern Israel, bordered by Jordan to the East
Its high level of salinity means its waters are incredibly rich in minerals and the health benefits of bathing in the Dead Sea have long been touted, though it is so salty that the water cannot support marine life
The Dead Sea is a salt lake located in the Judean desert of southern Israel, bordered by Jordan to the East.
With its origin dating back to some four million years ago, it is one of earth’s saltiest bodies of water and is the lowest point on earth.
Its high level of salinity - well over 30% - means its waters are incredibly rich in minerals and the health benefits of bathing in the Dead Sea have long been touted, though it is so salty that the water cannot support marine life.
However, the Dead Sea has shrank dramatically in recent years, most likely due to climate change.
It is now roughly 31 miles long and 9 miles wide at its widest point, but it is estimated that the Dead Sea’s water level has dropped by more than 131ft since the 1950s, and is now reducing by around two ft per year.
Water turning red is seen in both Judaism and Islam as a sign of divine punishment through plagues.
Traditional Jewish sources have long taught that the 10 plagues God used to smite ancient Egypt will make a reappearance just prior to the Messianic redemption.
Last year, the Alexander River ran blood-red due to blood from slaughterhouses in the West Bank flowing into the river, according to the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
No comments:
Post a Comment