NOAA Teacher at Sea
Paul Ritter
Almost on board NOAA Ship Pisces
July 16 – August 1, 2013
Mission: Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS)
Geographical area of cruise:southeastern US Atlantic Ocean waters (continental shelf and shelf-break waters ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC to Port St. Lucie, FL)
Date: July 16, 2013
Personal Log
My name is Paul Ritter and I am Biology and Earth Science teacher at Pontiac Township High School, in Pontiac, Illinois. I have an amazing wife by the name of Jodee and am the proud papa to my two girls, Baylee and Taylor. Even though I have only been gone for one day, I miss them already. Pontiac is located 130 miles south of Chicago on Interstate 55. Our community, where my wife, children, and I were born and raised, is the epitome of Corn Town USA. With that being said, our community does have several distinctions that set us apart from being a typical agricultural town. Pontiac is home to the National Pontiac Automobile Museum, the Wall Dogs Museum for international artists, the National Route 66 museum, and a museum call the War Museum that showcases our service men and women who were in all of the major wars of the USA. Our town is the number two tourism town in Illinois behind Chicago. The number two largest landfill in the USA calls Pontiac home. We have a maximum security prison that houses around 1,200 inmates. Caterpillar, among other industry, is a valued company that hangs its hat in Pontiac. It hardly seems possible but this is my 20th year of being a teacher. You know, for me teaching is just as exciting today as it was that first year in the classroom.
Being from the Midwest, people from my region associate NOAA with our planet’s weather. In reality, NOAA is so much more. NOAA plays a major role in Environmental Satellite Data, Marine Fisheries, Oceans, Weather, and Atmospheric Research. NOAA is so vitally important to the sustainability of our world. It is for this exact reason that I applied to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea. It is my goal to find real ways to integrate the amazing work of NOAA into our classes. My specific mission is aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces with the Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS) group which is a fishery-independent monitoring and research program targeting reef fish in southeast U.S. continental shelf waters. Initiated in 2010, SEFIS works cooperatively with the long-term and ongoing Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction (MARMAP) sampling program to:
- provide fishery-independent data to support reef fish stock assessments
- perform reef fish ecology research, including, but not limited to
- assessment of spatiotemporal distribution
- habitat affiliation patterns
Monday July 15, 2013
I woke up extra early for some reason around 5:00 A.M even though the night before was a late night with the final night of my daughter Baylee’s play, the Little Mermaid. Excited and anxious about leaving on my great expedition, I knew I needed to get out of the house or I was going to wake everyone else. I headed to town and filled up the car with fuel. Wanting to waste some time, I headed to some of our local stores to get some last minutes for the trip. Around 8:30, Jodee and the girls drove me to the airport in Bloomington, Illinois. It was exciting and sad at the same time. I was very much looking forward to my expedition, but I wished I could take the family to be a part of the adventure. We have had so many adventures together and I know they would have had a great time. Maybe next time. I flew from Bloomington to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and then finally landing in Jacksonville, Florida. The ride from Bloomington to Chicago was quick and easy but the same could not be said for the next leg of the flight to Florida.
Our plane to Jacksonville was around 30 minutes late to land in Chicago and then when finally aboard we taxied around the runway for about 25 minutes. It felt like we were on a behind the scenes tour of O’Hare. I was waiting for the pilot to come over the announcements and say “Ladies and gentlemen if you look to your right you can see Lake Michigan”. Finally in the air, somewhere over Georgia we hit the turbulence. Man it was bumpy. While this was going on, I took the opportunity to get to know the guy who was next to me in seat 11B. Ironically, we went to the same college at the same time and lived in the same dormitory. Small world. We finally arrived in Jacksonville and off to the hotel I went. You know it is funny, I have been so fortunate to be able to travel to some amazing places, but I have never been on a ship in the ocean for pleasure or otherwise. I am not really sure if I will get sea sick or not. I’m thinking not, but I am guessing I will find out very quickly.
Tuesday July 16, 2013
Dr. Zeb Schobernd and the rest of the scientists are making their way down to meet me in Jacksonville to pick me up at the hotel. Here is another very cool part of this trip…. Zeb’s hometown, which is Bloomington, Illinois, is only 35 miles from where my family I live. From there we are headed to the Pisces which is in port to spend our first night on board. I look forward to getting to know my new shipmates.
Did You Know? NOAA does more than just weather? In fact, NOAA is involved in every aspect of our amazing world. Here are some of their divisions. · National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service · National Marine Fisheries Service · National Ocean Service · National Weather Service · Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research