Narragansett, R.I. -- April 9, 2002 -- The public is invited to attend a free Science for Breakfast Lecture, sponsored by Friends of Oceanography, to be held on Thursday, April 18, at 9 a.m. in the Coastal Institute Building on the URI Bay Campus. Free and open to the public, the lecture is part of a series featuring the research of URI Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) students.

The "Motion in the Ocean" lecture will be presented by geological oceanography graduate student Anthony Kirincich of Narragansett.

Fronts in the ocean, related to atmospheric fronts, are regions of rapid change in salinity or temperature. This lecture will describe the similarities between atmospheric and oceanic fronts and describe different types of oceanic fronts that exist. Current research in the area will be used to illustrate these and other important points about fronts in the oceans.

A native of Indiana, Kirincich received a B.S. in engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Under the guidance of his major professor, Dr. Dave Hebert, he studies physical and coastal oceanography. He is working on his master’s thesis entitled "Dynamics and Variability of a Coastal Front."

Friends of Oceanography is a community-based membership organization established in 1986 to support the educational and public programs of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography. Friends provides financial support of fellowships for GSO students, and other research, education, and outreach activities. The organization also helps sponsor a variety of special events such as oceanography lecture series, open houses at the Bay Campus, The JASON Project, and the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.

Contact: Lisa Cugini, (401) 874-6642, lcugini@gso.uri.edu