One of the word?s most famous marine biologists and renowned female ocean explorers in will give a special BBSR lecture at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on September 16.

Dr. Sylvia Earle, who is also an explorer-in-residence with the National Geographic Society, visited Bermuda for the first time in 2003 to celebrate the groundbreaking new Michael R. Naess Laboratory at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.

The multi-million dollar facility now houses such programmes as the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study, the Molecular Marine Biology and Genomics programmes, the Coral Reef Ecotoxicology programme, and the Oceanic Microbial Observatory.

On September 16, the public will have the opportunity to hear Dr. Earle recount her deep-ocean adventures in her lecture ?Exploring the Deep Frontier?.

Dr. Earle, nicknamed ?Her Deepness? and ?The Sturgeon General?, has been an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society since 1998.

Named ?Time? magazine?s first ?hero for the planet?, she has pioneered research on marine ecosystems and has led more than 50 expeditions totalling more than 6,000 hours underwater.

She holds numerous diving records, including setting the women?s depth record for solo diving at 1,000 meters.

?I was swept off my feet by a wave when I was three and have been in love with the sea ever since,? Dr. Earle recently said.

?Even as a child I was lured into the sea by the creatures who live there ? strange and wonderful forms of life that occur only underwater. It was, and is, irresistible.?

Former chief scientist for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Dr. Earle is author of more than 125 scientific and popular publications, including a 1995 book, ?Sea Change?.

She has also written several children?s books, including ?Coral Reefs?, ?Hello Fish?, ?Sea Critters? and the award-winning ?Dive!?

She played a key role in a decision in early 1999 by the Clinton Administration to double the budget of the US National Marine Sanctuaries.

Dr. Earle works with the National Geographic Society on various projects and was more recently the project director of the Sustainable Seas Expeditions.

This five-year project of the National Geographic Society and NOAA, administers the 12 US marine sanctuaries, the underwater equivalents of national parks. The objective of the initiative was to explore and photo-document the geology and creatures in the deep waters of each of the sanctuaries.

Her lecture will take place on Friday, September 16, beginning with a reception at 6.30 p.m. Reservations are required.

Those interested and requiring more information can contact BBSR on 297-1880 extension 204.