ANN ARBOR—What is a “tsunami”? How do you measure the length of a wave? What is a chronometer and how did it revolutionize navigation?

Teams of high school students will respond to these and similar questions at the first Midwest Regional Competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, to be held Feb. 28 at the University of Michigan. Deadline for team entry is Dec. 15.

The competition is one of 16 regional events to be held across the United States during early 1998. The winning team from the Ann Arbor event will compete in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl finals in Washington, D.C., in

The Ann Arbor contest will be co-hosted by the U-M’s Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research, the Michigan Sea Grant Program, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

Nationally, the competition is being organized by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) and the National Marine Educators Association with support from the NOAA, the Office of Naval Research, the Oceanographer of the Navy, the National Science Foundation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

“The National Ocean Sciences Bowl provides a unique opportunity to help promote literacy in science and mathematics through gaining a fundamental understanding of our greatest natural resource, the world’s oceans,” says Adm. James D. Watkins, U.S. Navy (Ret) and CORE president. “This educational project will also, for the first time, begin to forge a stronger link between the oceanographic research institutions and their neighboring communities of K-12 teachers and students.”

For more information, or to enter a team by the Dec. 15 deadline, contact Michael Quigley, MRC Coordinator, 2205 Commonwealth Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2945; (313) 741-2149;

Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE)U-M News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan