Surrounded by Water

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.

Jacques Yves Cousteau

Our Lives and water are closely linked. Water is required for life to start and for life to continue. It is the most important nutrient in the world. We cannot live without it for more than about 100 hours.

Water (H2O) is a simple molecule of the two most common elements: it consists of just two hydrogen atoms attached to a single oxygen atom. It is trans- parent, odorless, tasteless, and everywhere. It is such an ordinary part of life and so commonplace that we often take it for granted. Precipitation

The ocean loses and gains water in a never-ending process called the hydrologic cycle. The ocean loses water when the sun and wind lift moisture from its surface. Most rain and snow fall right back into the sea. Rain water and melted snow that falls on land Evaporation

Infiltration runs into rivers flowing back into the sea. It seems to us that water is endlessly renewable.

Actually, only 1% of the world’s water is usable to us. About 97% is salty sea water, and 2% is frozen in Groundwater glaciers and polar ice caps. Our water supply is a precious commodity. Fresh water and salt water, together, are extremely important to the story of Barnegat Bay.

Hydrologic Cycle

Ancient history is not always precise. While we can decipher early human history in the Barnegat Bay area from Native American tales and the ships’ logs of sea captains who passed by, we can only put together an incomplete picture.

The Earth sciences give us a more exact and comprehensive look at the formation of the lands and the flow of the waters in this area. Looking at the sand, gravel, and rock formations deep in the ground, geologists and hydrogeologists can determine the beginnings of this story.

We can go back to the giant Wisconsin glacier that covered the northern United States in the Pleistocene glacier age. The melting of this giant ice sheet formed the unique ecosystem of the Pine Barrens of 6