Ocean Currents Lecture - Hidden in the Muck

The Ocean Currents Lecture Series will wrap up Thursday, August 18, with a talk by Douglas Miller, UD associate professor of oceanography and Delaware Bay expert.

Ocean Currents lectures take place once a month from May through August. Talks begin at 7 p.m. in Room 104 of Cannon Lab at UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus on Pilottown Road in Lewes. The events are free and open to the public, but reservations are required.

The August lecture, titled “Hidden in the Muck: Sixty Years of Research on the Bottom of Delaware Bay,” will weave a story about decades of study that provided the foundation for today’s understanding and management of the east coast’s second-largest estuary.

Miller is in the process of reviewing seven major surveys of marine life at the bottom of the bay conducted since the 1950s. The surveys represent more than 900 sampling stations and record hundreds of species.

In addition to looking at the past, Miller’s talk also will highlight some of his more recent, high-tech contributions to research in Delaware Bay, including work to map different habitats on the bay bottom using autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles. That work is being conducted with colleagues in UD’s Department of Geological Sciences and supported by Delaware Sea Grant.

For reservations, which are required due to limited seating, contact Michelle Scorziello at mkscorzi@udel.edu or 302-645-4346. Light refreshments are served at the hourlong lecture.