Lake Kinneret is a key source of drinking and irrigation water for Israel and the kingdom of Jordan. The Lake’s major source (Jordan River) is tainted with various micropollutants, including DDT and Endosulphan, banned decades ago, yet, these are not detected in the receiving lake water. However, similar pollutants were found in Jordan River mouth sediments and the Lake’s fish. We hypothesize a link between the water’s particulate matter and bioaccumulation processes in the food web. Many pollutants adsorb to particulate matter enriched with “key carriers”, e.g. lipids, polysaccharides, microplastics and humic substances. This binding may lead to slow, undetected, chronic, long-lasting effects on Lake Kinneret´s ecosystem.

Particulate matter and sediments samplings will be conducted seasonally from the Jordan River mouth and southward into the Lake, the littoral and Lake Center. Samples will be analyzed for carriers and micropollutants. Affinity studies will be conducted with the collected sediments and with particles suspected as key carriers. A polluted particles hydrodynamic distribution model will be developed and tested. Demersal versus other fish analysis of micropollutants, will be conducted.

This study will reveal the cryptic processes and distribution of polluted sediments and particles in the Lake. Additionally, this work will establish a novel approach to integrate simple field results and designated simulations, to perform a pollutants vulnerability map including Lake deposit hot spots that may be treatable.