Oceans in trouble: Trump shuts down key $368 million ocean monitoring system

Shutting down the network that was supposed to work for 25 years

The Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI) was established in 2016 and consists of a network of approximately 900 instruments in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. These instruments are specially designed to withstand the enormous pressure and corrosive saltiness of the ocean depths. Anchored rigs and submersibles continuously collect data in real time, allowing scientists to monitor the health of the ocean, including changes in chemistry and the powerful currents that shape global weather and climate.

The initiative was supposed to run for 25 years, but the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds the system, announced on May 21 that it would “reduce the scope” of the network. Over the next 15 months, “infrastructure in the water” will be removed from locations off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and North Carolina, and from the North Atlantic off southeast Greenland, NSF said in a statement. The decision “fits with NSF’s broader strategy of taking a more agile approach to prioritizing support for the development of scientific priorities and new technologies, as well as smart lifecycle management within its portfolio of research infrastructure,” said Mike England, head of media affairs at NSF.

Scientists: “This is a short-sighted and harmful move”

Scientists have expressed deep concern that the move undermines ocean science at a critical time, diminishes US scientific leadership, and abandons taxpayer-funded equipment that is more than needed. installed and in operation.

​- I would call this saving on little things that will end up costing us a fortune. OOI proves its value through a range of economic and social benefits: from fisheries management to weather forecasting and coastal flood protection. Where is the ROI analysis showing that eliminating OOI is in the best interest of taxpayers? – said Rick Spinrad, an oceanographer who led the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during the Biden administration.

The global oceans are undergoing a period of enormous change, some of which remain largely unexplained. Ocean temperatures have reached record levels in some places, fueling stronger hurricanes, raising sea levels and causing massive coral bleaching.

​- Continuous monitoring of the ocean is how we detect new risks in real time. Without it, we actually choose to navigate an increasingly unstable ocean with reduced visibility – said Helen Findlay, a biologist and oceanographer from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in Great Britain.

Endangered monitoring of the key Atlantic current

A huge area of ​​concern is what the loss of tracking will mean for our understanding of a key network of Atlantic ocean currents called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). A growing body of research suggests that the AMOC could be on its way to collapse, potentially causing more damage. in this century, which would bring catastrophic consequences, including the accelerated rise of the sea level for a long time; the east coast of the USA, deep winter freezes in Europe and long-term droughts across Africa.

​- Continuous ocean monitoring is key, especially now. The concern in the oceanographic community about the major changes in ocean currents that await us is great – said Stefan Rahmstorf, professor of physics and oceans at the University of Potsdam in Germany.

A direct hit to fisheries and forecasts across the US

At another location slated for dismantling, Ocean Station Papa in the Gulf of Alaska, autonomous floats and sailboats monitor ocean health, including acidity in an area vital to the fishing industry, but also extremely sensitive to acidification. In the Pacific Northwest, the dismantling of ocean arrays will have more immediate consequences for commercial fishing and the marine industry, as the Endurance coastal array off the coasts of Washington and Oregon is integrated with other instruments in the area, helping to monitor water temperature and oxygen levels.

The Endurance array helps Quinault tribal fishermen determine if there are enough Dungeness crabs to catch or if oxygen levels are low enough to cause them to die or relocate, explained Jan Newton, a professor of oceanography at the University of Washington. Eleven instruments of the Endurance array will be removed from the ocean by the end of the month, after which the area will be left without key data.

Political background and connection with “Project 2025”

The decision to shut down OOI comes at a time when the Trump administration is rolling back climate protections and trying to dismantle and defund climate science, while pushing plans to begin mining critical minerals in the deep sea. Critics link the decision to recommendations from “Project 2025,” a conservative plan that OOI labeled “the source of much of NOAA’s climate alarmism.” Although the administration proposed drastic cuts in the 2025 and 2026 budgets, Congress managed to restore funding both times.

Some have accused the Trump administration of abandoning ocean monitoring to please fossil fuel companies. “Fossil fuels are warming our oceans, so Trump’s corrupt industry people want to turn off the monitors,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, posted on Xu. Experts say that the consequences of what is lost will be far-reaching. Chris Robbins of the Ocean Conservancy warns that it will create “an irreparable blind spot for our country in earthquake prediction, fish stock health, storm forecasting, coastal flooding and more.”