On Saturday, students from Oxford High School won the Hurricane Bowl, a regional ocean science academic competition that is part of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), which celebrates its 25th anniversary this spring.

The Hurricane Bowl, which was hosted by the University of Mississippi Marine Education Center, is part of a nationwide competition that tests students’ knowledge of ocean science disciplines through buzzer-style, multiple-choice questions and open-ended team challenge questions.

The Oxford High team will join winners from 21 other regional bowls in May (final date to be announced) for virtual NOSB Finals. Students on the championship team include Keerthin Karthikeyan, Noah Amidon, Anh Thu Le, and William Berry. They are coached by Nicole Roberson.

For 25 years, the NOSB, a program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, has built our next generation of marine scientists, policy makers, teachers, explorers, researchers, technicians, environmental advocates, and informed citizens by educating them in timely and relevant ocean science topics that are already a part of our future.

Considering access barriers, varying local regulations, and the constantly evolving nature of the COIVD-19 pandemic, the NOSB will again host Finals virtually, ensuring students don’t miss out on the experience of competing with their peers and connecting with the greater NOSB community while also prioritizing their health and safety.

In addition to testing their general knowledge about ocean-STEM, this year’s competitors need to understand the complex role the ocean plays in regulating climate as well as how climate change manifests in the ocean and what opportunities ocean-STEM could offer to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

For this year’s competition theme, Climate Change: Ocean Science and Solutions, students have had to go beyond learning about just the mechanics of ocean circulation patterns or sea level rise and into how that information can lead to new offshore wind turbines or inform coastal adaptation decisions.

“As all the best scientists know, there’s more to science than just knowing facts: Connecting ideas across disciplines, investigating relationships between science and society, and being able to contextualize their research in the current moment is critical for scientists working on the climate crisis,” said Kristen Yarincik, director of the NOSB at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. “Using climate change as a case study gives NOSB students a unique opportunity to trace the whole life cycle of scientific inquiry, seeing how observations turn into applications. Even if they pursue a career outside ocean science, NOSB students will be prepared to think critically and solve the most pressing problems of our times. Congratulations to all the brilliant, resilient students who competed this year, and we can’t wait to see all of our regional winners for virtual Finals!”

The 2022 National NOSB program is made possible through the following major sponsors:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Schmidt Ocean Institute
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• American Honda Foundation
• Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
• Marine Technology Society
• IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society

A complete list of sponsors can be found at nosb.org/about/nosb/sponsors. For more information about NOSB, visit www.nosb.org.