Trump administration Decide Dismantling much of the $386 million federal ocean observing network would deprive scientists of an irreplaceable source of data to understand how climate change is affecting important ocean currents and marine ecosystems, as well as increasing coastal flooding.
“No other system is as comprehensive,” said Craig McLean, former acting chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and now a senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation. Other monitoring networks provide valuable information but represent only “pieces and pieces” of collective measurements, he said.
Under plans announced by the National Science Foundation in late May, a network of sensors, moorings and autonomous instruments known as the Ocean Observation Initiative would remove nearly all underwater infrastructure. Federal officials will send ships to remove equipment from most of the Atlantic and Pacific facilities.
system Enter running state Conducted in 2016, it aims to provide at least 25 years of continuous observations. Researchers use the data it provides to study the ocean’s role in, among other things, absorbing heat and carbon dioxide.
The NSF said an array near Oregon that monitors seafloor geology, volcanoes and seismic conditions will continue to operate until 2028, as will the program’s central data center. Researchers will retain access to the collected data.
NSF said in a statement that the decision reflects “a more flexible approach that prioritizes support for evolving science priorities and emerging technologies, as well as smart lifecycle management across its research infrastructure portfolio.” The statement cited a 2025 National Academies report that recommended a review of the observing network to adapt it to changing needs.
It follows a multi-pronged attack by the Trump administration on climate-related research and projects and previous efforts to reduce funding for the initiative. NSF Fiscal Year 2026 budget requirements An 80% cut was proposed, but Congress rejected it.
Unlike intermittent sampling, OOI uses a variety of sensors to continuously monitor the same location. Scientists say this allows them to distinguish between short-term fluctuations and long-term environmental changes.
The OOI sensor in the Ilminger Sea between Greenland and Iceland helps track the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation— a huge conveyor belt There is a shallow warm current in the north and a deeper cold current in the south. Some scientists now believe that the ocean current is weakening and that it may collapse in the coming decades rather than centuries.
Experts say no alternative can completely replace the web. this Argo Floating networks supported by dozens of countries, the UK-led RAPID array, and observatories operated by Canada, Europe and Japan also collect ocean data, but these and other systems are often viewed as complementary to OOI rather than interchangeable.
“There are some major ocean observing projects that are led by other oceanographic institutes,” said Penny Holliday, chief scientific officer at the UK’s National Oceanographic Centre. But data from the US network is “critical to understanding the ocean, how it changes and how those changes impact people and the planet”.
Chris Robbins, deputy director of science programs at the Ocean Conservancy, said OOI provides a unique level of detail.
“Argo is somewhat similar to taking someone’s vital signs in that it provides a snapshot of a person’s health,” he said. “OOI provides deeper diagnostics obtained through imaging and blood testing.”
What makes this network so valuable to researchers is that it combines fixed-location observations with the ability to simultaneously measure biological, chemical, physical and geological processes from the surface to the seafloor. However, once observations at a location are interrupted, the resulting gap in the record cannot be recreated.
Robbins questioned why the government would decommission infrastructure that is still functioning.
He said it would be absolutely short-sighted to abandon “such a large investment in a state-of-the-art system, a feat of engineering that the American people have already paid for.”
The consequences will be far-reaching, McLean said.
“We will dismantle the components that produce the results tomorrow,” he said. “It’s much easier to just worry about what’s happening today than to focus on the long term.”
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
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