Landscape Response to the Dead Sea Level Fall in Recent Decades

The geomorphic response of channels to base‐level fall is a major factor in landscape evolutionLandscape evolution and a basic question in geomorphology. The response of the tributaries of the Dead SeaDead Sea to its progressively level fall in recent decades (> 40 m, > 1 m per year) forms a new and evolving landscape; the tributaries provide a rare opportunity to observe, directly measure, and analyze active field-scale fluvial processes in response to base-level fall. These channels are evolving within diverse settings, which enable isolation of specific factors and processes that control their evolution. This rapid ongoing geomorphic evolution is being studied in recent years using high spatial and temporal resolution datasets. The studies yielded both practical and theoretical insights on various geomorphic subjects, including channel meanderingMeandering, waterfall migration, sediment redistribution, flood effects, karst and channel interactions, and more. As the Dead SeaDead Sea level continues to fall, the potential of the lake region as a unique field-scale fluvial geomorphology laboratory is far from being exploited.