| Salt Evaporation Ponds, Dead Sea: The complex of Jordanian
salt evaporation ponds at the southern end of the Dead Sea has
expanded significantly over the past dozen years. The western margin
of the salt ponds marks the Jordan-Israel border. In August 1989, when the crew of Space Shuttle mission
STS28 photographed the region, the northern extension did not exist
and the large polygonal ponds in the northwestern and northeastern
sectors had not been subdivided. In the view taken by the STS102 crew
in March 2001, one can see that there has also been
expansion at the southeastern end, and that levees now segment the
northeastern wedge into four ponds. Both sodium chloride and
potassium salts are produced from the Dead Sea ponds.
Salt-evaporation works are expanding throughout the world in response
to increased manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other
chemicals, for which salt is a principal feedstock. About 22.4
million metric tons of salt (sodium chloride) were consumed by the
chemical industry in 1996. Other uses are in human and animal
nutrition, water conditioning, and road de-icing. |
