This summer, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary welcomed Charlie Azzarito, a Hollings Scholar from Florida State University. Charlie is spending his summer in Alpena at the sanctuary, which awards about one hundred to two hundred students a year. To qualify for the scholarship, students apply during their sophomore year and receive tuition assistance for their junior and senior years. In between, they have the opportunity to do an internship with NOAA.
Charlie expressed his excitement about the internship and mentioned that his friends are working in various locations across the country, including U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and Guam. Charlie is working on a project called the Freshwater Acidification Project at the sanctuary. The project involves monitoring levels of acidity, conductivity, temperature, and other factors in Lake Huron. This study is an extension of NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program, which focuses on monitoring levels and temperature changes in the ocean. Charlie mentioned that this is the first study of its kind in the Great Lakes or any freshwater body of water. The team hopes to expand the project to other sanctuaries in the Great Lakes region in the future. Charlie is excited to be part of this groundbreaking research and contribute to our understanding of freshwater ecosystems.