Ocean Sciences Bowl draws Alaska's students: students compete in Seward and may have opportunities to win university scholarships.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Alaska This Month

Alaska's high school science students this month will gather in Seward to take part in the 8th Annual Alaska Region National Ocean Sciences Bowl, part of a nationwide competition to promote learning in marine sciences.

The bowl consists of a round-robin/double-elimination format for teams of four students, plus one alternate and a coach. The competition uses multiple-choice or short-answer questions within the broad category of the oceans. Questions are drawn from the scientific and technical disciplines used in studying the oceans (physics, chemistry, geology, atmospheric science and biology) as well as from topics on the contributions of the oceans to national and international economics, history and culture. The competition begins Friday, Feb. 18 and continues through Saturday and Sunday.

Coordinators have added a second component in Alaska. Local students are asked to offer in-depth research projects as part of their work. This year's topic asks the teams to determine the most important problems or hazards facing a coastal community as the result of climate change and to propose policy changes or actions to deal with the problems. Since the first National Ocean Science Bowl, Alaska has responded well.

"We were in it from the beginning," said Phyllis Shoemaker, coordinator for the Alaska Region NOSB. "We're the only region that does the research project as well. The research project was added after the first year."

The Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education and the National Marine Educators Association sponsors the annual competition. The NOSB was first conducted in the winter and spring of 1998 in honor of the International Year of the Ocean. The NOSB is in turn supported by U.S. government agencies through the National Oceanographic Partnership Program and by corporations, foundations and other non-governmental organizations.

As a bonus for Alaska students, the members of the winning team won a one-year tuition waiver at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Last year's winner, Team Tempest from Juneau-Douglas High School, received the...