Researchers said they discovered white smokers discharging saline fluid at the bottom of the Dead Sea.

Dr Christian Siebert, a hydrogeologist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, said they were studying changes in the body of water and its impact on bordering countries such as Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank when the team of divers found the structures.

The hydrogeologist said that the discovery of towering white chimneys could help understand how the changes reshape groundwater pathways beneath the sea.

He said: 'These chimneys bear a striking resemblance to black smokers in the deep sea, but the system here is completely different.'

Dr Christian said that unlike the deep-sea counterparts that emit sulphide-rich hot water, the Dead Sea's white smokers release highly saline groundwater.

He added: 'This water comes from nearby aquifers, leaching ancient rock layers composed of halite, which crystallizes when exposed to lake water, forming the chimneys.'

The structures are more than 23ft (7m) tall and grow in centimetres per day.

The expert said they found traces of cosmic radioisotope 36Cl and freshwater microbes in the saline jets, indicating the groundwater's origin in nearby aquifers.

He said: 'These white smokers are more than a geological curiosity and are a potential lifeline for understanding and predicting dangerous sinkholes.'

The Dead Sea has water levels dropping roughly 3ft (1 m) per year due to blocked tributaries and intense evaporation, straining groundwater resources.

Thousands of sinkholes have appeared along the Dead Sea's shores in recent decades. They form when underground salt layers dissolve, leaving voids that collapse unpredictably.

Dr Christian said: 'The white smokers could serve as an early warning system for sinkholes.'

The team's findings suggest that mapping these chimneys with advanced sonar could pinpoint areas at risk of collapse, offering an unprecedented tool for safeguarding land and infrastructure.

White smokers are hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, usually in volcanic or tectonically active regions such as mid-ocean ridges. These vents emit hot, mineral-rich fluids, which appear cloudy or white due to the types of minerals they release.