NOSB 2015 Research Project:
Reduction in Arctic Sea Ice

The research project

The 2015 research project consists of two key elements: (1) a written document that the teams will prepare and submit prior to the Tsunami Bowl, and (2) an oral presentation that the team will present to fellow participants and a panel of judges during the competition in Seward.

The research project score will be combined with the score earned in the round robin quiz competition to determine seeding of the elimination quiz brackets.

The research project is optional. Teams can compete in the quiz bowl portion of the Tsunami Bowl without doing a project.

The topic

Climate change and the resulting impacts in the Arctic have had much coverage in the press lately. Consider a major reduction in Arctic sea ice as it relates to habitat loss for your projects. Choose one of the two major directions listed below:

1. Impact on Arctic Biology: Choose an organism (i.e., marine mammal, fish, invertebrate or human) and discuss the impacts of changing patterns in seasonality and a diminished presence of historical ice fields upon the success of this organism. Discuss briefly (less than 2 pages) models for sea ice estimates in the next 50 years to set the stage for your choice of conditions. Introduce your organism under present sea ice conditions. How is the ice-habitat used? What aspects of this organism’s biology are threatened or enhanced by a reduction in sea ice? Why is this important (what are the implications of these changes on the Arctic ecosystem)? What alternatives are there for the organism you have chosen? Are there reasonable steps to reverse the trend?

or

2. Impact on Global Scale: Choose an impact of reduced Arctic sea ice (include reduction of Greenland and Canadian ice fields in this scenario) on weather patterns or oceanic circulation (local or global) and discuss the potential impacts (e.g., storms, drought, and coastal erosion). Discuss briefly (less than 2 pages) models for sea ice estimates in the next 50 years to set the stage for your choice of conditions. Introduce your topic under present sea ice conditions and discuss how sea ice coverage impacts weather. What changes do you anticipate? (For example, will we see increased drought or more severe weather in Poughkeepsie, New York. Note: you will need documentation for these anticipated changes.) Why is this important (what are the implications of these changes, negatively or positively)? Are there reasonable steps to reverse the trend?

These two topics are very different and both are quite diverse. This gives you great latitude in choosing a topic of interest to your group. Remember to define/discuss the loss of Arctic sea ice and potential changes in seasonality and how this impacts your chosen topic. Document your organism/weather choice. Speculate on why and how you would mitigate this pattern.

Guidelines

We recommend all teams and coaches carefully review the following instructions.

Scoring

Below are links to PDFs of the scoring rubrics for both the written paper and oral presentation.

Resources

General writing, research, and presentation resources

Submitting your paper

Your paper must be submitted to the Tsunami Bowl coordinator, Phyllis Shoemaker, by December 1, 2014.

The paper you submit should be considered the final product.