Deep-Sea Secrets Part Of Birch Aquarium's Spring Lecture Series

By Jessica Crawford 

LaJolla, CA - Recent discoveries from seafloor and other rocks suggest that Earth's crust might be host to vast, unexplored ecosystems of microbes. Join Scripps geologist Hubert Staudigel as he describes his recent research expedition to Antarctica and how he is exploring inhospitable environments for microbes that may provide clues to the early history of life on Earth.

Birch Aquarium at Scripps Announces
Spring Evening Lecture Series
Scripps Institution of Oceanography/University of California, San Diego

Dates: March 9, April 13, May 11
Time: 6:30-8 p.m.
Public: $8
Students/Educators: $5
RSVP: 858-534-5771

Explore Earth’s mysteries through the Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series, presented monthly at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. From the cosmos to the ocean abyss, join Scripps researchers on their paths to discovery in this acclaimed series.
Monday, March 9
Life in the Extreme: The Rock Bottom of Antarctica's Food Chain
Hubert Staudigel, Scripps research geologist

Recent discoveries from seafloor and other rocks suggest that Earth’s crust might be host to vast, unexplored ecosystems of microbes. Join Scripps geologist Hubert Staudigel as he describes his recent research expedition to Antarctica and how he is exploring inhospitable environments for microbes that may provide clues to the early history of life on Earth.

Monday, April 13
Adventures in Oceanography
Dale Stokes, Scripps research oceanographer

Join Scripps research oceanographer Dale Stokes for a global photographic journey of oceanography featuring ships, submarines, underwater habitats and both poles. This presentation includes a decade of dramatic images documenting exotic locations – underwater and topside – and a variety of unusual vessels and research instruments.
Monday, May 11
Gulf of California's Deep-Sea Secrets
Brad Erisman and Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, Scripps marine biologists

From mangroves to deep-sea reefs, Scripps marine biologists Brad Erisman and Octavio Aburto-Oropeza will explore the diversity of marine life in the Gulf of California. Learn how humans impact these fragile ecosystems and how marine reserves and habitat monitoring provide scientists with critical information needed to protect and restore these amazing ecosystems. Erisman and Aburto-Oropeza recently returned from scientific expeditions in Mexico that captured unprecedented details about the Gulf of California, including documentations of new species and marine animals never before seen alive.
Perspectives lectures are intended for a lay audience. Birch Aquarium admission and parking are included. Light refreshments are available.
Past lectures air on UCSD-TV and broadcast to more than 16 million viewers via satellite and cable television. Archived lectures also can be found on YouTube. For more information, visit: http://ucsd.tv/oceanscience.

Visit Birch Aquarium at Scripps

Location: 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla, Calif.
Phone: 858-534-FISH
Website: http://aquarium.ucsd.edu
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily
Admission: $11 Adult, 18+
$9 Senior, 60+
$7.50 Youth, 3-17
Free Children, 2 and under
Free Scripps Oceanographic Society Members
Directions: From Interstate 5, exit at La Jolla Village Drive.
West one mile. Left on Expedition Way.
Parking: Birch Aquarium offers three-hour courtesy parking.