THE DEAD SEA CAME TO LIFE

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23320, 2 October 1945, Page 6

THE DEAD SEA CAME TO LIFE

A Scientific Wonder Produced Chemicals For Modern War The Holy Land, ancient country of miracles, is to-day the scene of a new marvel which merits inclusion among the modern scientific wonders of the world. When Allied bombers dropped their loads on Axis targets their feats were achieved partly with the help of Arabs working in the heat of Central Palestine (states a writer in the Melbourne “Argus”). British naval gunners and the Army s artillery, too, depended to no extent upon the activities of those dusky workmen whose operations were conducted many miles from the battlefronts. One of the aims of the Nazi plans to conquer In deed. was to obtain this British enterprise for the use of Germany. The Axis Intrigues in Syria, early m the war, had a similar ulterior object.

For the Dead Sea, which for centuries was regarded as one of the most useless regions on the surface of the globe, became vital to the Allied war effort. It was the only source of certain vital minerals within tbs British Empire. This inland lake, less than 500 square miles in extent, contains the greatest concentration of mineral salts in the world—minerals such as potassium salts, magnesium salts, and bromine, which are highly necessary in the manufacture of light metals and high explosives, and for the production of fertilisers. The bromine obtainable •is actually seven times as great as that which Germany was able to obtain in her own country, and the value of this substance in modern warfare can hardly be exaggerated. One product, for instance, is an anti-knock compound which, when added to synthetic petrol, greatly improves the smooth running of car engines. The Red Cross services behind the battle lines need bromine products, too. as various essential drugs are made from it. Photography, which nowadays plays an important role in warfare, uses considerable quantities, and bromine is further used by the dye industries. In the past, bromine was manufactured chiefly al Stassfurt, in Prussia, and in some parts of France. Moreover. it was produced in pounds rather than tons. But the harnessing of the Dead Sea has altered all that. Potash has similarly wide usages, in both war and peace. Without it. the manufacture of explosives would be seriously restricted, and if Britain's farmers had been denied potash fertilisers during the last five years, the great increase in home front production W'ould have been impossible to achieve. The value of magnesium, the third important product of Palestine’s famous inland “sea.” is no less important. It is employed in aeroplane manufacture, in the making of incendiary bombs, and in the production of fireworks for military as well as spectacular uses. Mineral Salts Plant To establish the first mineral salts plant on the northern shores of the sea a few years before the outbreak of war, great evaporating pans, some of them 30 acres in extent, had to be built. It was also necessary to carry a great suction pipe out into the water and to sink it to a depth of 175 ft, for soundings revealed that the potash and bromine at that depth are twice as strong as on the surface. This 2500 ft pipeline is 30in in diameter. and was laid with the help of divers, who went out specially from England. Another task was the transfer of 500 Arab workmen to the site with their wives and families, and the construction of a model settlement for this population of 2000 or more people. Roads had to be constructed, and a powerhouse, a pumping station, and refineries had to be transported to the site and erected there. The laying of the pipeline presented extraordinary difficulties. The sections, each more than 600 ft long, needed 27 railway waggons to carry them, and the weight of pipe and waggons caused the newly laid railway track to sink. That, in its turn, derailed the whole train on several occasions.

Later, when the pipe was launched on rafts to be taken out from the shore, the weight again proved too great. Oil drums had to be hurriedly lashed to the rafts to make them more buoyant. But, stage by stage, the unforeseen difficulties were overcome, and by 1938 nearly 65,000 tons of potassium chorlide alone were being derived from the northern waters of the Dead Sea. The salt-impregnated water is pumped to the highest of the evaporating pans, which are ranged in tiers on the nearby hillside, and is theri allowed to pass slowly from pan to pan, evaporation taking place meanwhile. The salts (magnesium and potassium chloride) are thus left behind and are scooped up by mechanical shovels.

Actually, the products derived in this way is a combination of the two salts, and they have to be separated in the refinery. The job is performed by various chemical processes, and further refinement enables the bromine to be drawn off in liquid form. Other similar evaporating pans, pumping stations, and refineries have been set up farther south on the edge of the Dead Sea. No fewer than 23 square miles at the southern end of the lake were thus equipped even before World War 11.

The provision of this new manufacturing centre presented difficulties even greater than those encountered at the northern end. It took 12 months to survey the site. Then piers had to be built, for all the equipment had to be transported by water from the northern end of the sea. Two years’ painstaking labour were needed before the plant was at last set in operation. Barges had then to be built specially to transport the products to the northern shores, for shipment to all parts of the British Empire. A Misnomer Though it is modern science that has brought this Biblical lake to life, its name has long been a misnomer. No fish can live in its waters, but the popular belief that no birds fly over its surface is totally incorrect. Nor is it true that the area is entirely desolate and completely devoid of scenic charm. Some colourful scenery awaits the tourist in the vicinity of this sea. the lowest sheet of water on the earth's crust. Its northern shores have long been a retreat for holidaymakers from Jerusalem, and when the mineral plants and refineries were set up there protests came from several quarters. In consequence, it was agreed to establish a new spa as compensation. Kallia, as this resort is called, has modern hotels, restaurants, and facilities lor bathing. The drawback is that bathers must not stay in the water longer than 15 minutes and must not let the brine get into their eyes. Exploitation of the mineral deposits is unlikely to reduce the value of the Dead Sea as the years go by. Not only are there enough salts to last for centuries, but the minerals are replaced almost as fast as they arc removed. More than six million tons of water, bringing more salts, are poured into this lake every day by the River Jordan alone. This, in spite of the fact that in the immediate neighbourhood the annual rainfall is only five inches. nevertheless, considerable geographical changes have occurred since the district was the scene of incidents described in the Testaments. When John the Baptist was beheaded not far from its shores, the Dead Sea was probably bigger than it is to-day. Indeed. at one time it extended for 200 miles, instead of 50 as it does to-day, and its surface (now 1300 feet below that of the Mediterranean) was above Mediterranean level. • Long ago the Arabs got crude salt from this region, and bitumen (or asphalt) floating on its surface was collected for its medicinal value. In Biblical times, this substance was also used to protect the vines in the vineyards against grubs and worms. It is not surprising that, when Palestine was under Turkish rule, the successive Lillians earmarked the Dead Sea as I heir personal property, and reaped irt\ sums by a tax on salt gathering. It was —'it until 1926, however, that

the first applications were made for government permission to exploit' the sea along modern commercial lines Since that time a new name may well be regarded as applicable. It. has been known al various periods as “The Stinking Sea,” “The Asphalt Sea ” and "The Sea of Lot.” Nowadays “Sea of Wealth" would be appropriate. Or, better still. “Sea of Victory.” For when Rommel's armies failed to reach Egypt and open the way to the conquest of Palestine thev failed to grasp an inland sea which would have been a prize indeed, a prize which offers benefits to mankind in the years ahead.