We have just finished our first full day at Interuniversity Institute in Eilat after driving down from Tel Aviv and stopping overnight for a stay in the Negev Desert at the Sde Boker satellite campus of Ben Gurion University. The campus is smack dab in the middle of the biblical desert and hosts institutes that study desertification, water science and other topics that demand immediate access to the extreme, beautiful environment of the Negev.
We toured the laboratories of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, where Dr. Edo Bar-Zeev conducts research regarding the environmental impacts of desalination. Israel obtains much of its drinking water using desalination, and Edo is at the forefront of determining how this technology can be improved to maximum efficiency while maintaining minimum environmental impact.
Edo and our own Karen Petersen look at the reverse osmosis membranes used in desalination.
Edo also took us for breakfast at the edge of the vast canyon Ein Avdat, carved out by millions of years of erosion. It was an incredible vista, and we were joined by the local ibexes and mountain bikers.
Afterwards we drove past Mitzpe Ramon and the massive nearby crater formed when a mountain was gradually eroded by riverine action. The topography and complex folding of underlying sediments were laid bare to see.
After a short jaunt along the border, yesterday we arrived in the beautiful, hot and exotic environment of Eilat. Here on the Northern tip of the Red Sea we will conduct various experiments analyzing the health of coastal communities of the Gulf of Aqaba. Today was mostly consumed with meeting collaborators, getting permits, setting up experimental equipment, and other necessary work before we can get to the science! More updates soon as we continue our adventure.
View from the dive locker of IUI
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