Scientists lose critical climate record as ocean observatory will go dark under Trump funding cuts
NSF says the phased removals follow a strategic shift, while critics warn the move will end real-time data collection from a $368 million network.
- On Monday, the National Science Foundation announced it will remove 900 instruments from the $368 million Ocean Observatories Initiative , dismantling deep-sea monitoring networks across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
- This action aligns with plans by Thomas F. Gilman, a former Trump administration official who wrote Project 2025's Department of Commerce section and previously advised that climate research should be "disbanded" to reduce federal bloat.
- Hilary Palevsky, a Boston College professor, noted the system provides essential data on how the ocean absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide, while researchers warn the loss hinders tracking of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation , which impacts global weather and fisheries.
- Ships will deploy this month to extract in-water infrastructure from the Irminger Sea and Station Papa; the NSF stated this "descoping" process could take 15 months and aligns with wider strategy for "smart life cycle management."
- The program's closure follows the Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of the "endangerment finding" and the shutdown of the National Center for Atmospheric Research , moves critics like former NOAA chief scientist Craig McLean describe as a sign of the administration's "lack of understanding.
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47 Articles
Ocean research: The network of 900 sensors cost the American taxpayer 40 million dollars a year and yielded a wealth of information. Now…
The US government is pulling the plug on important ocean research. The first measuring buoys of the Ocean Observatories Initiative will be removed as early as this month. Researchers from all over the world depend on them, but the US military also needs that information. "This is shooting yourself in the foot. And not with a pistol, but with a bazooka," warns a Belgian researcher.
Scientists lose critical climate monitoring in oceans along nation’s coastlines in wake of Trump funding cuts
A portion of one of the most ambitious ocean monitoring networks ever built will go dark this month when scientists board a research vessel and motor off the Oregon coast to pull a research buoy from deep out of the Pacific.The buoy 80 meters (260 feet) below the water’s surface will be removed June 16 from the Ocean Observatories Initiative — a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million that has continuously collecte…
Scientists lose critical climate record as ocean observatory goes dark under Trump funding cuts
A portion of one of the most ambitious ocean monitoring networks ever built will go dark this month when scientists board a research vessel and motor off the Oregon coast to pull a research buoy from deep out of the Pacific.
The US Science Agency NSF will host more than 900 instruments for climate research from the Atlantic and Pacific. A former chief scientist sees this as a model for the government in its dealings with research.
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