9:42 a.m., Sept. 15, 2010----If you love the ocean and want to learn more about it, there's no better opportunity than Coast Day, held Sunday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the University of Delaware's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. The free event offers lectures on a range of topics sure to capture your interest, from oil spills to photography.

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Kicking off the Focus on the Coast lecture series at noon will be Jonathan Sharp, professor of oceanography, who will present “Is Climate Change Altering the Behavior of the Delaware Bay?”

Next, at 1 p.m., Willett Kempton, professor of marine policy who directs UD's Center for Carbon-free Power Integration, will present “Offshore Wind for Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic.”

And at 2 p.m., James Corbett, professor of marine policy, will discuss “Delaware's Connection to America's Oil Spill.”

The Coast Day lecture series includes Art Trembanis, assistant professor of geological sciences, who will present “Underwater Mission to Mars -- How Robots Are Helping Guide Space Exploration,” at noon.

The series wraps up at 1 p.m. with a lecture called “Fighting Oil Spills in the Delaware Bay and River: A Cooperative Approach” by Rich Gaudiosi, president of the Delaware Bay and River Cooperative (DRBC). DRBC operates the oil skimming vessel Delriver, which will be available for tours at Coast Day.

A third series, the Wildlife Seminars, include a 1:30 p.m. talk on photographing wild Delmarva by photographer and author Kevin Fleming and a 3 p.m. discussion about marine mammals and sea turtles of the Delaware Coast given by Suzanne Thurman, executive director of the Marine Education, Research, and Rehabilitation (MERR) Institute.

Coast Day, an annual educational festival and showcase for Delaware's rich marine resources, is sponsored by the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE) and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program. It is supported by Gamesa Corp., Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, OSG Ship Management Inc., PNC Bank, UTEC Survey Inc., and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

For more information, visit the Coast Day website or call (302) 831-8083. Additionally, the full lineup will be available through the event program on the Coast Day website Monday, Sept. 20.

For more about CEOE or Delaware Sea Grant, visit the websites.

Shuttle bus service from Newark campus

University of Delaware students, employees, and members of their immediate families can sign up for free shuttle service to Coast Day. Buses will depart from the Robinson Hall parking lot at the Newark campus at 9:30 a.m. and will depart from Lewes at 4:30 p.m. Reservations are necessary to secure a spot and must be made by 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 30, by calling the Marine Public Education Office at (302) 831-8083.