A gauging station at Barnegat Inlet measures the amount of water flowing into and out of Barnegat Bay. Data recorded every six minutes is transmitted hourly by satellite to a USGS website for public access. This information is collected to document tidal flow entering and leaving the bay through the inlet and, together with water quality data and information on the amount and movement of water throughout the bay, to help scientists better understand the bay and its issues. Flow is measured with an Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meter, which uses sound waves to measure the speed of water moving in and out of the inlet during the tidal cycle, and the volume of flow is then calculated from those velocity measurements along with measurements of the inlet’s width and depth.