4:27 p.m., Jan. 25, 2008--Distinguished marine geologist Charles Nittrouer is scheduled to give a lecture at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 1, in 206 Robinson Hall, with an ITV link to Cannon 202 on UD's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. The event is free and open to the public.

Nittrouer, a professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Washington, has developed a number of international research programs designed to characterize the fate of river sediment delivered to the coastal ocean. He has studied rivers including the Amazon in Brazil, the Changjiang of China and the mountainous rivers of the United States' Pacific Coast.

His lecture, “The Ties That Bind Source to Sink: Within and Between New Guinea and New Zealand,” will focus on unique river systems recently targeted for research supported by the National Science Foundation.

Nittrouer has edited several books and published more than 100 journal articles. In March, the Society for Sedimentary Geology will recognize his contributions to the field with the Francis P. Shepard Medal for Marine Geology.

Nittrouer is known for his ability to bring together multidisciplinary teams of researchers from diverse fields in oceanography, including physics, biology and chemistry, Chris Sommerfield, associate professor of oceanography at UD, said. He explained that Nittrouer is known as an authority on continental-margin sedimentation.

“If you're in this field, you know his name,” Sommerfield said. “His research has had a major impact on coastal and marine geosciences.”

The lecture is sponsored by UD's College of Marine and Earth Studies (CMES) and the National Science Foundation's MARGINS Distinguished Lectureship Program. MARGINS promotes research on continental margins, the areas where continents and oceans interface.

To learn more about the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, visit [www.deseagrant.org]. For more about CMES, visit [www.ocean.udel.edu].