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Solar Lake (Arabic: بركة الشمس Birkat aš-Šams) is a saline desert lake located on the edge of the Red Sea, about 18 km south of Eilat in the Sinai Peninsula, Taba, Egypt, close to its borders with Israel. A small lake of high salinity, it is the site of complex biochemical phenomena, linked to cycles of evaporation and of infiltration of waters.

Solar Lake
Solar Lake
Coordinates	29°25′20.82″N 34°49′47.81″E
Type	Endorheic, Salt lake
Primary inflows	Gulf of Aqaba
Primary outflows	Seepage, evaporation
Max. length	140 m (460 ft)
Max. width	50 m (160 ft)
Average depth	4–6 m (13–20 ft)
Water volume	10,244 m3 (8.305 acre⋅ft)[1]
Residence time	5.5-6 months
Surface elevation	Varies, near sea-level

Solar Lake became isolated from the Red Sea as littoral sediments closed off an embayment between two rocky headlands.[2][3] The saline waters of the Gulf of Aqaba that seep into Solar Lake are further concentrated by evaporation in the lake.[2] It is believed that in addition to losses from evaporation, there is a crack system at the bottom of the lake.[2]

Monohydrocalcite and other carbonates appear to be deposited in Solar Lake by the action of benthic cyanobacterial mats (stromatolite), which may be 1 m thick.[4][5]

At night the top metre of surface water loses heat to the cold desert air but insulates the lower layer. The insulated lower layer continues to gain solar energy each day and to accumulate heavy brine from above.[2] Solar Lake develops some of the highest temperature solar-heated waters of any lake: certain layers can reach as high as 60 °C, temperatures matched only by some geothermal lakes. Due to the strong layering during certain times, the thermal gradients can be as high as 18 °C/m.[3]

In the summer, the lake turns over and becomes well-mixed thermally and in salinity. The residence time of water in the lake is believed to be 5.5–6 months.[3]

See also

• The Bear Lake in Sovata, Romania, is another example of this physical phenomenon.
• A solar pond is also a system for storing solar energy in a volume of highly saline water using the same principles as occur naturally Solar Lake.
•  Lakes portal

References

External links

• De mystérieux lacs salés ? (French)

На других языках

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[de] Birkat asch-Schams

Der Birkat asch-Schams (dt. Sonnensee, arabisch بركة الشمس, DMG Birkat aš-Šams), auch als Solar-Lake bekannt, ist ein Salzwassersee am Ende des Roten Meeres in Ägypten, der durch seine besondere Lage und seinen hohen Salzgehalt wie ein Solarkollektor wirkt und mit 60,5 °C die höchsten Wassertemperaturen erzeugt, die bislang auf der Erde in einem Salzsee gemessen wurden.[1] Dieser seit etwa 4600 Jahren existierende See hat besondere hydrographische, chemische und biologische Eigenschaften, die inzwischen unter anderem mit dem Ziel erforscht werden, neue Methoden zur solaren Heißwasser- und Stromerzeugung zu entwickeln.[2]

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- [en] Solar Lake

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[fr] Lac Solaire

Le lac Solaire (arabe : بركة الشمس Birkat asch-Schams) est un lac salé héliotherme situé à Taba en Égypte à proximité de la mer Rouge, à environ 18 km au sud d'Eilat dans la péninsule du Sinaï qui, en raison de son emplacement particulier et de sa forte teneur en sel, agit comme un capteur solaire et génère les températures de l'eau les plus élevées jamais mesurées dans un lac salé sur terre.

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