[1] The Dead Sea (DS) pull-apart basin is one of the more seismically active segments of the DS Transform plate boundary. In the last decade, hundreds of collapse-sinkholes have been formed along the DS coastlines in Israel and Jordan, causing severe damage to the regional infrastructure. The formation of these sinkholes is attributed to the dissolution of a buried salt layer by fresh groundwater due to the drop of the DS and the associated groundwater levels. Here we show that the sinkhole distribution, combined with gradual land subsidence measured by radar interferometry (InSAR) track young fault systems suspected as active, concealed within the fill of the DS rift. This notion is supported by (1) sinkholes clustering along discrete lineaments with a striking trend similarity to that of the exposed rift-margin faults; (2) prominent discontinuities in seismic reflection profiles offsetting young sediments (several kyrs old) below sinkhole lines, and (3) straight boundaries of gradual subsidence features that coincide with or parallel sinkhole lines. Combined, the sinkhole lineaments and the InSAR measurements reveal a zigzag pattern of buried faults within the DS rift fill.

The water level in the Dead Sea (Israel and Jordan) has been dropping at an increasing rate since the 1960s, exceeding one meter per year during the last decade. This drop has triggered the formation of sinkholes and widespread land subsidence along the Dead Sea shoreline, resulting in severe economic loss and infrastructural damage. In this study, the spatiotemporal evolution of sinkhole-related subsidence and the effect of human activities and land perturbation on sinkhole development are examined through interferometric synthetic aperture radar measurements and fi eld surveys conducted in Israel during 2012. Interferograms are generated using COSMO-SkyMed satellite images and a high-resolution (0.5 m/pixel) elevation model obtained from LiDAR measurements. As a result of this unique combination of high-resolution data sets, millimeter-scale subsidence has been resolved in both natural and human-disturbed environments. Precursory subsidence over a period of a few months occurred before the collapse of all three sinkhole sites reported in this study. The centers of the subsiding areas migrated, possibly due to progressive dissolution and widening of the underlying cavities. Filling of newly formed sinkholes with gravel, and mud injections into drill holes, seem to enhance land subsidence, enlarge existing sinkholes, and form new sinkholes. Apart from shedding light on the mechanical process, the results of this study may pave the way for the implementation of an operational sinkhole early-warning system.

During the past three decades, thousands of sinkholes were formed along the Dead Sea (DS) shorelines in Israel and Jordan, due to dissolution of subsurface salt by undersaturated groundwater. The sinkholes are associated with gradual subsidence preceding their collapse by periods ranging from a few days to almost 5 years. To determine the factors controlling this precursory subsidence, we examine tens of subsidence‐sinkhole sequences along the DS shorelines in Israel. The duration and magnitude of the precursory subsidence are determined by Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements and simulated by viscoelastic damage rheology models. Longer periods of precursory subsidence are found in the cemented alluvial fans and in simulations of higher‐viscosity sediments. While surface subsidence accelerates during the precursory period, the widths of the subsiding areas remain uniform, suggesting that during this period upward propagation of damage from the subsurface cavity is not accompanied by upward migration of the actual cavity. Our observations and simulations are used to constrain the viscosity of the sediments along the DS and to reduce sinkhole hazards by assessing the precursory times of future sinkholes in the different sedimentary environments.

Two types ofsinkholes are observed along the Dead Sea shore, Israel. The first is associated with vadose dissolution in Mount Sedom salt diapir. The second is associated with dissolution under the watertable along the retreating Dead Sea shore. The Dead Sea level is falling dramatically, mainly because of human activity. Simultaneously, the lake shores suffer tremendous impact since the late 1980s: The ground is collapsing and subsiding in hundreds of points along the lake, with people, roads and property being swallowed in the more catastrophic events. The collapse is believed to result from dissolution of salt by aggressive groundwater, following the retreat of Dead Sea level and the groundwater halocline. Geological evidence suggests that a previous major lake level fall occurred naturally -2000 BCE. This may provide a new explanation for a curious historical-geological phrase in the book of Genesis, suggested to record formation of collapse sinkholes which occurred in response to the historic falling lake level, associated with climatic desiccation.

During the past three decades, the Dead Sea (DS) water level has dropped at an average rate of ~1 m/year, resulting in the formation of thousands of sinkholes along its coastline that severely affect the economy and infrastructure of the region. The sinkholes are associated with gradual land subsidence, preceding their collapse by periods ranging from a few days to about five years. We present the results of over six years of systematic high temporal and spatial resolution interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations, incorporated with and refined by detailed Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurements. The combined data enable the utilization of interferometric pairs with a wide range of spatial baselines to detect minute precursory subsidence before the catastrophic collapse of the sinkholes and to map zones susceptible to future sinkhole formation. We present here four case studies that illustrate the timelines and effectiveness of our methodology as well as its limitations and complementary methodologies used for sinkhole monitoring and hazard assessment. Today, InSAR-derived subsidence maps have become fundamental for sinkhole early warning and mitigation along the DS coast in Israel and are incorporated in all sinkhole potential maps which are mandatory for the planning and licensing of new infrastructure.