Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
The Dead Sea is so named because its high salinity discourages the growth of fish, plants, and other wildlife. This salt lake resides in a depression in the Earth's crust, where the continents of Africa and Asia are pulling away from each other. The Dead Sea is the lowest surface feature on Earth, sitting roughly 1, 300 feet (400 meters) below sea level. These false-color images were captured by the Landsat 1, 4, and 7 satellites. The Multispectral Scanner System on Landsat 1 acquired the first image on September 15, 1972. The middle image was acquired on August 27, 1989, by the Thematic Mapper on Landsat 4. The third image is from the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus on Landsat 7 on October 11, 2011. All three images include a combination of near-infrared, red, and green wavelengths. Deep waters are blue or dark blue, while brighter blues indicate shallow waters or salt ponds (in the south). The pale pink and sand-colored regions are barren desert landscapes, while green indicates sparsely vegetated lands. Denser vegetation appears bright red. Near the center is the Lisan Peninsula, which forms a land bridge through the Dead Sea. The ancient Egyptians used salts from the Dead Sea for mummification, fertilizers, and potash (a potassium-based salt). In the modern age, sodium chloride and potassium salts culled from the sea are used for water conditioning, road de-icing, and the manufacturing of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics. The expansion of massive salt evaporation projects are clearly visible over the span of 39 years.
