Transcript Streams, Lakes, and Hydrology of the Pine Barrens

Streams,
Lakes, and
Hydrology of
the Pine
Barrens
Definition of Hydrology:
The study of the
properties,
distribution, and
effect of water in
an ecosystem
What happens when it
rains?
Hydrological Budget
114 cm of precipitation falls
on the Pinelands every year
- 15 cm is intercepted
- 42 cm evaporates
- 6 cm flows into streams
- 51 cm sinks into the ground
Ground Water
The Pinelands is famous
for its large aquifersunderground body of
water that is bounded
by water-saturated
layers of sediment
The
Cohansey aquifer lies
above the Kirkwood
Together
they contain
17 TRILLION
gallons of water!!!!
Cross Section of the Pinelands
Cohansey
Delaware
River
Kirkwood
Mt. LaurelWenonah
Potomac Raritan
Magothy
Bedrock
Atlantic
Ocean
Cohansey Sand Wedge
What is a watershed?
A
watershed is the area of land,
based on topography, that
drains to a particular water
body.
Lakes
Due
to the flat terrain,
and sandy soils there
are no natural lakes
Most of the lakes were
created to supply
water for power and
industries
Rivers
 Low
in pH (range 3.6-5.2,
mean 4.4 (lower in the
winter
 Over 5 there is an impact
from development (fertilizer
runoff)
 Low levels of calcium and
magnesium
7 Major Pine Barrens Rivers
Metedeconk
Batsto
Toms
Mullica
Oswego
Wading
Great
Egg
Harbor
Streams
All
of the Pinelands
rivers drain to the
Atlantic, except for
Rancocas Creek
(which drains into
the Delaware)
Biological Characteristics…
Snails
and mollusks
can’t deposit calcium
in their shells if pH <
5.8
Crustaceans are
scarce in waters <6
Many
fish species
cannot reproduce
<5
Many streams are
stocked with game
fish, which are
unable to reproduce
Characteristic Species
Fish:
sunfish, pirate
perch, chain pickerel,mud
minnow and brown and
yellow bullhead catfish
Insects: dragonflies,
damselflies, and whirligig
beetles