Hourly to weekly variations in halite precipitation from the hypersaline Dead Sea: The role of evaporation, water cooling and freshwater plume stability

Abstract

ABSTRACTThick‐bedded halite sequences in the geological record are characterized by lateral variations, reflecting spatiotemporal variations in environmental forcing. Although temporal variations have been examined over seasonal scales or longer durations, there is a paucity of information regarding the dynamics of halite deposition at shorter durations of days and hours. Additionally, the influence of water discharges and surface salinity gradients remains poorly understood. Here, for the first time, in situ, hourly to weekly halite accumulation rates were measured on the Dead Sea floor (ca 20 m water depth), the only modern deep and hypersaline water body. Novel underwater photography methods were developed to directly observe halite precipitation at the lake floor, coeval with monitoring of the environmental drives, i.e. evaporation, meteorological and limnological conditions. Two fundamental environments were explored: a diluted plume environment arising from spring discharge; and a mixed hypersaline environment. The focus was on deposition during winter when the halite accumulation rate is highest, and the relationship between evaporation and halite accumulation is most straightforward since the water column is vertically uniform. Significant spatial variations in halite accumulation were found between the two environments, along with hourly variations in each environment. In the mixed hypersaline environment, over intra‐diurnal timescales, evaporation plays a more significant role in halite precipitation, whereas temperature has a greater impact on seasonal changes. In the diluted plume environment, the stability of the buoyant plume controls the rate of halite deposition; during windstorms, the plume is stirred, with higher surface water salinity and higher rate of halite accumulation. However, under calm winds, the plume is stable, with diluted surface water, and the rate of halite accumulation is a few times lower. Following these new findings, the implications for the interpretation of halite deposits are discussed.