Walking off the bus, a gust of air hit us and the hot beaming sun shined down on our skin, causing us to once again drench our clothes in sweat. However, this gust of air was different – it was cool. We were at the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) and about to take a ride on a boat to study marine biology. For those who don’t know the Kineret is one of the most important bodies of water in Israel. The Kineret provides a large portion of Israel’s water supply. This is especially important due to Israel’s mostly arid climate.
On the boat we participated in 2 different activities, each led by a led by a marine biologist. In the plankton research demonstration, a collection 30 nanometers net was lowered into the water. With the mesh net, we took samples of the lake water. As the marine biologist put the slide under the microscope, we all sat forward on the edge of our seats with the anticipation of seeing the lake water’s teeming life, especially the plankton. Sadly, the microscope wasn’t working and we went to the next activity.
In the second part, we talked about the importance of the Kineret. We were told how the boat is used to measure the quality and quantity of the water. For the quantity of the water, we learned how the water needs to remain at a certain level. The water level can’t be above -208 m or it will flood the surrounding land and can’t be below -213 m or the marine life will suffer. For the quality, we learned that the sulfur level is very important because the marine life, in order to thrive, needs a certain amount of sulfur. The rest of our time on the boat was spent taking pictures of the water and the surrounding scenery. So in the end, the boat was nice and we were able to spend time on a beautiful body of water.