---

Most Popular Stories

Pounds lost are cook's gain

Dutch Harbor mourns captain Phil Harris

Chignik Lake death is under investigation

Alaska Natives disproportionately affected in gonorrhea spike

Anchorage contractor will build Akutan harbor

---

Published on February 4th, 2010

Unalaska sends two teams to Tsunami Bowl

By VAN WILLIAMS

When Unalaska City School sophomore Hailee Jellison decided to join the local Tsunami Bowl competition, she admitted to having second thoughts.

"When I first joined I thought that it would be boring," she said.

However, Jellison was way wrong.

"It was fun," she said. "I didn't know much about Tsunami Bowl until this year. For me it has been a great experience."

Jellison isn't the first student to balk at the idea and she won't be the last.

In the end, though, most students end up enjoying themselves more than they imagined.

"When I look back on it, Tsunami Bowl has been a really fun and challenging club in which I have gained some great knowledge and experience," said sophomore Bethany Hladick.

Each year in February high school teams from all over Alaska converge in Seward to compete in the Tsunami Bowl, the Alaska regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB).

This year's competition runs Feb. 5-7.

"The purpose of the NOSB is to encourage students to learn more about the oceans and its inhabitants than they would in their basic science classes," said Reid Brewer, an Unalaska agent and associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Teams compete in two equally weighted programs - a jeopardy-style quiz round and an annually focused research project. The research project is further broken down into a 20-page paper and 20-minute presentation that is presented before a panel of university researchers.

The Unalaska City School is sending two teams coached by Shawna Rudio:

The Pelagic Surimi Bombers, featuring senior captain Sirahna Graves as well as senior Patrick Trinidad and sophomores Sebastian Graves and Hladick.

And Benthic Eukaryotic Arthropod Nauplili, or BEAN for short, featuring junior captain Noah Betzen as well as sophomores Ashleigh Radvansky, Aaron Adams and Jellison.

"I didn't plan to go into the marine biology field or any ocean sciences field," Betzen said. "Nevertheless, I feel that Tsunami Bowl is a great experience. Students learn valuable skills that will help them with similar endeavors in the future; things like teamwork skills, presentation skills and the ability to think under pressure are important."

This year the research project focuses on receding sea ice and Alaska's coasts.

"I've always been interested in things like receding sea ice and how it affects Unalaska and what we can do to fix it," Radvansky said.

Many of the teams are looking at how specific communities will be affected by shrinking sea ice. For example, the team from Cordova is researching the problems facing Barrow as a result of thinning sea ice, while a team from Mountain Village is looking at the ways receding ice is affecting subsistence in their village.

Other teams are taking a broader approach to the research project. Students from Soldotna are studying how reduced sea ice impacts polar bears, and the Kotzebue team is looking at how global warming may affect shipping.

"We are very excited about this year's research project. Each of the teams has picked a unique way of looking at how thinning and receding sea ice may affect Alaska's coastal residents," said organizer Phyllis Shoemaker of the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.

"We are looking forward to hearing each team's oral presentation when they come to Seward as well as having a spirited competition in the quiz bowl."

The winning team from Alaska will compete in the national finals in Florida in April. In addition the winners will get a tuition waver at UAF, stipends for high school science programs and other awards.

"I want to be a marine biologist and by doing this I can learn more about marine life and possibly win scholarships to college," Adams said.