Dynamic Planet

Overview: Dynamic Planet is the earth science event. Each year different areas of study are covered, from plate tectonics, to mineral resources, to global weather. With astronomy and rocks/minerals each having their own events, at least for now, it looks like those fields will not be on DP in the next few years. Areas of study for this year are as follows:

Division B - Physical Oceanography Division C - Physical Oceanography, Weather - including global aspects

Resource materials WILL be permitted this year.

General Advice: I like to start studying for this event by taking out all the earth science, ecology, and weather books I can find. Simple as they are, it might be worth your time to start with the Macmillan books. Their 'Dynamic Earth' gives you a background on earth science if you know little or none to start with. Learning some plate tectonics basics and information on ocean floor spreading out of this book will only take you a few minutes. No matter which division you are in, it is probably worth your time to read their 'Weather' book cover to cover - again, that isn't a big time commitment, and it is a good way to freshen up on the basics.

Physical Oceanography can cover a lot of territory... basically, you should have a firm knowledge of just about everything in the water that doesn't have to do with biology. Waves, tides, currents - these are all things probably worth studying. A few examples of terms you should understand are as follows.

-upwelling current -diurnal tide -significant wave height

Before you go crazy studying weather, make sure you know how to read a basic map. If at one place on the map, you have a stem with a flag, and the flag is at the left end of the stem, does this mean the wind is going east or west? If you have a 30 mph wind, how do you show this with the little marks on the flag? You need to know this information cold - trust me, I learned the hard way.

For division B, weather on the small scale will usually include such concepts as all types of fronts, various forms of precipitation, and basic weather prediction skills. You're on your own from here...

For division C, you need to have an idea of the convection of air on the global scale... trade winds, prevailing westerlies, polar easterlies. Of course, the layers of the atmosphere are definitely good to know. You'll want to have a basic knowledge of El Ni�o too - people who run these events like to ask questions about that.

Beyond the simple advice I've given you, there's always the technique of talking to a teacher at your school who teaches earth science or something like that. If you want, use the study sites listed below, or find your own, to help you learn about earth science. But in all honesty, if you have a few thick earth science books, and you study the sections that relate to this year's topics, that is probably the best way to use your time.

(10/99 addendum): With the news in that you will be allowed to bring resources in to the event with you this year, I thought I should add some advice on that. I believe they are changing the idea of the event from one where you study and learn facts, to one where you apply concepts and ideas to figure things out. Make sure you bring in a good collection of resources with you, though not too extensive that you won't know where to find the information you are looking for. With this change in the event, it will definitely be a good idea to spend additional time practicing working with weather maps, charts, graphs, etc!

Have fun, and best of luck.

Study Sites:

Student Center's Earth Science Study Sites - lots of links Frank Potter's Science Gems - Earth Science II Yahoo - Meteorology TWC - Weather Glossary - Yes, the folks at the Weather Channel actually have a good site with an amazing list of terms.