US Dismantles Key Ocean Monitoring Network, Threatening Climate Data

The United States is set to dismantle a crucial network for monitoring the oceans, a move that threatens to halt the collection of vital data on temperature, currents, and acidification. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has decided to decommission the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a sophisticated system that has been tracking these key oceanic metrics for years.

The OOI, a $368 million project, comprises over 900 instruments deployed along the US coasts, in the Gulf of Alaska, and the North Atlantic. These instruments have provided real-time measurements essential for understanding the ocean's response to climate change. The NSF plans to begin removing the equipment this month, a process expected to take up to 15 months, though some seismic sensors will remain operational until 2028.

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The world's most advanced, continuously operating ocean observing system.

This decision marks an early termination for the OOI, which was initially slated for a 25-year operational lifespan. Despite past attempts by the Trump administration to cut its $48 million annual budget, Congress had restored the funding. The NSF claims the dismantling is a strategic move to "flexibly adjust support for changing scientific priorities and new technologies" and "efficiently manage research infrastructure."

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This shows the current administration doesn't understand scientific value and importance... By dismantling such a system, the US will fall behind again in global scientific leadership.

However, scientists and former officials strongly condemn the decision. Jim Edson, the former OOI program director, called it the "world's most advanced, continuously operating ocean observing system." Craig McLean, former NOAA chief scientist, stated it shows the current administration "doesn't understand scientific value and importance" and risks putting the US "behind again in global scientific leadership."

Researchers are particularly concerned about the loss of long-term data, which has been instrumental in studying how oceans absorb greenhouse gases, the impact of marine heatwaves on fisheries and climate, and the rising risk of coastal flooding. The OOI's observation station in the Irminger Sea, between Greenland and Iceland, is considered critical for tracking changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a system whose potential collapse could have severe global climate consequences. Critics argue that dismantling the system without a plan for data continuity is a hasty and regrettable decision.

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It is a very hasty decision not to have a plan to continue collecting or preserving data while dismantling the equipment.