AQUIFER CHARACTERISTICS DERIVED FROM THE INTERACTION BETWEEN WATER LEVELS OF A TERMINAL LAKE (DEAD-SEA) AND AN ADJACENT AQUIFER

The water level of the Dead Sea, a terminal hypersaline lake (total di ssolved solids, approximately 340 g/L) has decreased at an average rat e of 0.5 m/yr since 1960 and by 0.8 m/yr between 1981 and 1989. The dr amatic long-term water level variation of the Dead Sea and the seasona l short-term fluctuations are accompanied by parallel variations of gr oundwater levels in an adjacent aquifer. A general methodology based o n a simplified yet reliable one-dimensional flow model, together with continuous measurements of groundwater levels in observation wells, en ables analysis of aquifer structural and hydraulic properties. Further more, this analysis enables prediction of future groundwater levels in unconfined and confined aquifers due to future changes in lake levels .