Ocean sensors will go dark under Trump funding cuts
5 hours ago
- #climate-data
- #funding-cuts
- #ocean-research
- A key Ocean Observatories Initiative buoy will be removed from the Pacific due to NSF funding cuts, marking the start of dismantling most of the network by 2027.
- The network, costing $386 million, provided over a decade of real-time ocean data on climate, ecosystems, and weather, supporting over 500 publications.
- Scientists warn the loss will cripple subsurface monitoring, especially during predicted El Niño events and marine heatwaves, hindering climate signal detection.
- The NSF describes the move as 'descoping' to prioritize evolving scientific goals, but researchers see it as part of a broader retreat from federal science funding.
- Only a seafloor cable network off the Pacific Northwest will continue, while other facilities face similar cuts, ending a long-standing commitment to basic research.