Jersey Shore Ocean Water Is So Clear, Here’s Why
Jersey Shore ocean water hasn’t always been as clear as you may have noticed it has been so far this season. The reason why may surprise you.
According to Josh Kohut, Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, it’s simple science. In an article originally published in NJ.com, Kohut says less particles like sediment or small plankton, called phytoplankton are the reason. Phytoplankton are single-celled plants that float in the ocean and provide about 40-50% of the atmospheric oxygen we breathe.
The article goes on to say that the arrival of spring begins to provide the needed sunlight, and the nutrients come from a couple of different sources — from the deeper water further offshore and humans. According to Professor Kohut, “as that warm water moves offshore it’s replaced by the cold water down deep,” describing a process known as upwelling.
Because that deeper water has a lot of nutrients, phytoplankton start to grow. Kohut says “It’s essentially like spreading Miracle-Gro on your garden.” Whenever there is a plankton bloom, that tends to give it kind of a greenish, yellowish, so somewhere in the blue to green to yellow band of colors. Different species give off different colors. The color comes from pigments they have in their cells. This is why we can see intense greenish-blue colors, that may remind you of the water in the Florida Keys if you have ever been down there.
Other Factors
The other source of murky water along the Jersey coast comes from sediment, which includes sand, silt, mud, and clay.
Some sediment comes from the rivers — finer-grained silts and clays will stay suspended in the water longer and gives the water more of a brown and opaque look. So the further you get from inlets, the clearer the water will get or the less suspended sediment material will be in the water.
Another factor is that there is less stirring of the water, which means the deeper water does not restore the nutrients. The Sunshine State also has less river runoff compared to the Garden State where we have several big rivers.
However, Anna Pfeiffer-Herbert, assistant professor of Marine Science at Stockton University gives us a reminder: “Just because the water’s clear doesn’t mean that it’s free of other types of pollutants, or just because it looks dirty, conversely, it doesn’t mean that it’s polluted in the sense of being harmful at all.”
So, in other words, enjoy it while it lasts, and you never know what Mother Nature has up her sleeve!
Speaking of the Jersey Shore and the ocean, check out my story on the Barnegat Bay Boat Festival.
