Dynamic Planet/Oceanography

Oceanography B
Last year, this event focused on physical and geological oceanography. Physical oceanography is primarily concerned with the ocean as a physical system in which principles like conservation of mass, energy, momentum and spin play a huge role in determining what you see. Geological oceanography looks at the rocks and sediments on the ocean bottom and margins and tries to infer how that got that way and what that tells us about the history of the earth. It is also good to know about ocean currents, the thermohaline circulation, and physical features of the ocean floor.

Reference Sheet
In 2008 you were allowed a double sided, typed (optional) reference sheet to help you and your partner. Try to include charts/diagrams and pictures that would seem beneficial to you (ex. Diagram that includes mid-ocean ridge, trenches, abyssal plane, continental drift/slope, etc.). Type small enough that you can fit more information, but not too small that you have to strain yourself to read it. Make sure you and your partner know where everything is on the sheet. Organize the data in a logical way, such as properties of oceans in one text box, sizes of famous bodies of water in another, and so on and so forth. You can write on the reference sheet if you deem it necessary. To fit more information on the sheet, you can decrease the margins of the paper.

Competitions
These will often take the form of written tests, though the exact format will vary from state to state.

Preparing for the competition
You need to have a mix of practical and theoretical skills. Practical skills should involve knowing how to read plots, particularly line plots, scatterplots, and contour plots. Theoretical skills should include an understanding of the Coriolis force, surface waves, and how the ocean interacts with the atmosphere. You should also study ocean geography.

Resources
Please check out the web site at

http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/~a1g/science_olympiad.html

It should at least get you started.