UMaine News

UMaine to Host 2006 Marine Sciences ‘Nor’Easter Bowl’ Feb. 11

Contact: Brenda Zollitsch, 866-4323; Catherine Schmitt, 581-1434

Editors’ note: Maine communities sending teams include Ashland, Corinth, Bath, Poland, Sanford, Waterville and York. Names of local high school team coaches and best interview opportunities for reporters can be obtained by calling the contact people listed in this release.

ORONO – So you think you know marine sciences? Try this short-answer quiz:

“The boundary between the less dense surface water and more dense deep water is called (what?)”

How about multiple choice? “One of the top commercial fish taken but not consumed directly by humans as food is the: grouper, flounder, rockfish or menhaden?

If it’s getting easy, try a third question: “A baratropic fluid is one in which surfaces of constant density do not cross which of the following type of surface? (isopycnals, isobars, isotopes or isobaths.)

These are examples of the kinds of questions that will be asked of about 100 high school students coming to the University of Maine on Saturday, Feb. 11, for an all-day marine sciences tournament, the 2006 Nor’Easter Bowl.

The Nor’Easter Bowl is one of 24 regional competitions throughout the country leading to the final National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) in May. The bowls are designed to introduce high school students to marine sciences and the many career opportunities in the field.

Teams of high school students from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will compete from 9 a.m. to about 4:45 p.m. in the D.P. Corbett Business Building behind the Maine Center for the Arts on the Orono campus. Prizes include more than $13,000 in scholarships of $1,000 and $3,000 apiece to three colleges or universities offering marine sciences education, in addition to books on ecology, gift certificates and, for the winning team, an expense-paid trip to the National Ocean Science Bowl in California.

On Feb. 11, the day begins early with registration, and opening remarks from Susan Haynes, director of NOSB and the Consortium of Oceanographic Research and Education, and professor David Townsend, director of the UMaine School of Marine Sciences, scheduled at 8 a.m. State Sen. Elizabeth Schneider and state Rep. Emily Cain will be special guests and will present awards.

Since many high schools do not have specific ocean science components in their curricula, most student competitors have been spending extracurricular time studying marine sciences for months, prepping for the competition, says Brenda Zollitsch, coordinator for the Northern New England Regional NOSB event.

“These kids have been studying for the last five months,” she says. “They’re really excited about this program. I think it’s the format that gets people excited. It’s really fast.”

The format for the competition sets up teams of high school students from northern New England to answer questions about the physics, chemistry, biology, geology and geography of the oceans, the social sciences, ocean-related technologies and current events. Maine communities sending teams include Ashland, Corinth, Bath, Poland, Sanford, Waterville and York.

Team members work together to solve difficult word problems posed as team challenge questions and then “buzz-in” to answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions in each round. All teams begin in a round-robin format and move on to the double-elimination part of the competition. Teams consist of four students plus one alternate and a coach.

In addition to competing, the students will learn about marine science programs and career opportunities from a variety of people, including a current UMaine student in the program, plus get a tour of the campus and the Maine Aquaculture Research Center here, according to Zollitsch and Katie Clegg, assistant coordinator for the Orono event.

“We really want to show them that the University of Maine really has a lot to offer in marine sciences,” Zollitsch adds. “We also want people to know that there are young people who are interested in becoming stewards of the marine environment.”

The University of Maine’s College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture is offering a $1,000 scholarship to all 15 members of the top three teams if the students enroll in the college, Zollitsch says. The School of Marine Sciences is in the NSFA.

In addition to UMaine and its School of Marine Sciences and the Maine Sea Grant College Program, other institutions cosponsoring the annual Nor’Easter Bowl, include the University of New Hampshire, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the University of New England and Maine Maritime Academy. The New England bowl is held each year at either UMaine, UNH or through Bigelow Labs at UNE.

Answers to the sample quiz questions, by the way, are as follows: Question 1, pycnocline (or thermocline); 2, menhaden; and 3 isobars.

For additional information, please call Brenda Zollitsch at 866-4323 or Catherine Schmitt of the Maine Sea Grant program 581-1434. A website,

, also has information.