Ocean acidification from an interns viewpoint.
My name is Ned Gable and I am currently an Environmental Science and Chemistry double major at the University of Mary Washington. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia.
I am a PADI Divemaster who is passionate about marine ecology and the biogeochemical components of the ocean. I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography coming out of college.
Interning at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center as a Young Researcher
Receiving word that I had won the Hollings Scholarship in early spring 2025 was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life. I was finally getting my shot at contributing to an organization that I admired, with nationwide impacts on science and our understanding of the natural world.
The workplace of my selected internship was at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The building was smaller than I had expected, with only one floor, but there were a plethora of passionate scientists working there who made each day interesting and exciting. Right down the hall from my cubicle was the fish dissection lab, where they would dissect mackerel and squid for gonads and otolith research.
My project involved compiling large amounts of observational data across time in the Northeast U.S. Shelf and comparing it to model outputs (MOM6-COBALT) of acidification and hypoxia. The complicated part was figuring out exactly how to compare raw observational data from specific times and coordinates to a gridded model output. While it took a few weeks of research and testing, I came up with a method to match observational data to model grids, average that data within each grid by day, and then compare the model outputs within ±1 day and ±1 grid to each averaged observation using Python code.
When I finally achieved this, I was able to locate exactly where hypoxia or acidification was occurring and if the model was capable of detecting these events. Seeing the outputs of my research was one of the most gratifying accomplishments not only of this internship but throughout my educational career.
I had three wonderful and intelligent mentors at the center who guided my learning and helped me direct my ideas into project outputs. My primary mentor, Dr. Joseph Caracappa, works as a Northeast region modeler focused on integrating environmental models and information into fisheries management efforts. Dr. Kimberly Hyde, a brilliant researcher working on remote sensing of phytoplankton blooms, was my co-mentor and primary mentor to my fellow intern, Grace Davis. She would come in every morning to make sure we were on track and not too confused by the code. Haley Synan, a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, would answer any questions we had about coding and provided a very useful handbook for applying our coding skills.
Dr. Caracappa’s approach to mentorship was one that allowed me to come up with my own solutions to research questions and problems. Thanks to this, I have flourished as a researcher and developed new skills that I had never before considered using in my career.
A great and fun aspect about being a research intern was the field trips we got to take. While in Rhode Island, we toured the R/V Pisces, a 208-foot ship with extensive research capabilities. A large amount of the data I used to validate ocean acidification and hypoxia model outputs came from this very vessel.
We also toured the Milford Laboratory and saw oyster farming research, the local fish processing factories, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and University of Rhode Island-Graduate School of Oceanography, giving us a lot of networking experience while also having fun.
Overall, this experience was transformative for me as a researcher as I gained computer-based skills. This opportunity has opened doors for me and my career, and I am eternally grateful to the Hollings program and my wonderful mentors who made me feel welcomed at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
NOAA fisheries, 16 September 2026. More information.
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