Mysterious pipes spewing shimmering liquid discovered at the bottom of the Dead Sea

Scientists have discovered mysterious pipes at the bottom of the Dead Sea that emit a shimmering liquid. These tall salt "chimneys" resemble "white smokers."

The underwater pillars, which reach 7 meters in height, can be an early warning of life-threatening sinkholes that are common in the area. That is, they are harbingers of destruction, LiveScience writes.

"Today, no one can predict where the next sinkholes will occur. This makes white smokers an outstanding forecasting tool for identifying areas that are at risk of collapse soon," said study leader Christian Siebert, a hydroecologist at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Germany.

The Dead Sea is a landlocked salt lake bordering Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank. Known for its salinity, the Dead Sea is almost 10 times saltier than the ocean, and interestingly, it is getting saltier, scientists say.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Dead Sea has been shrinking rapidly over the past 50 years due to local drought and evaporation. This has also led to a drop in the water table, making it increasingly difficult for neighboring countries to access groundwater resources.

While exploring these reserves, Christian Siebert and a team of divers came across a sunken city with pearly white pillars that were emitting shimmering liquid. Most of them were between 1 and 2 meters high (from the bottom of the lake), although some were as high as 7 meters and up to 3 meters in diameter.

"So far, they are unique and have never been seen before in the world," Siebert said.

The study found that the shimmering liquid was groundwater from surrounding aquifers that had penetrated thick layers of salt-rich rock at the bottom of the Dead Sea, scientists say. As this water flows through the rocks, some of the salt inside them dissolves, resulting in a highly concentrated brine.

However, the researchers emphasize that even this salt-rich water is not as salty as the Dead Sea. Dissolving salt in water increases its density, so the water in the sea is denser than this shimmering brine, causing it to rise "like a jet."

According to the scientists, because they have different compositions, the salt in the brine crystallizes out of solution the moment the two liquids are mixed, forming slender columns of salt that rise from the sediment and can grow several centimeters every day.

The team of scientists found that the "white smokers" could also signal something sinister. Over time, the destruction of the salt-rich rocks beneath the lake is creating large underground cavities in the Dead Sea area, and this is a serious problem, experts say.

For years, scientists have been trying to find ways to predict when and where these dangerous sinkholes will occur. In the new study, Siebert and his colleagues found that they often appear in places where there are white pillars. However, this assumption requires more research.

"Today, this would be the only and very effective method for identifying regions that are threatened with imminent collapse," summarized hydroecologist Christian Siebert.

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