From a barge floating above the deepest point on earth, a research team hopes to drill through half a million years of history to uncover secrets of climate change and natural disasters.
Boring into the bed of the Dead Sea, the group of engineers and scientists began extracting layers of the earth's core on November 21, and will continue for about two months until they reach a depth of 1,200 meters below sea level.
"The sediments of the Dead Sea are the best climate and earthquake recorders for the entire Middle East," said project head Zvi Ben-Avraham of the Israel Academy of Sciences, standing at the water's desert shore, which is already about 420 meters below sea level.
The Dead Sea, Ben-Avraham said, collects water run-off from Egypt's Sinai desert up to the Golan Heights, an area of about 42,000 square km, providing plenty of material for climate research.
It is also on a fault line between two continental plates moving at different speeds, causing much tectonic activity. Like trees have rings, the sea bed adds two layers of sediment every year. The team will analyse 500,000 years of geological history, deciphering patterns and using them to help understand the future, said Ben-Avraham.
They will extract information on ancient rainfall, floods, droughts and earthquakes that can then be used in studies on how to best deal with global warming.
The Dead Sea is a favourite spot for tourists because of the buoyant and healing properties of its extremely salty waters. It is also among 14 finalists in a global internet vote to choose seven wonders of the natural world.