Scientists warn: US plans to scale back decade-long ocean monitoring network

The National Science Foundation announced a plan to descope the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $368 million, 900-instrument deep-sea network that has provided data on ocean currents, climate variability, and marine ecosystems since 2016. The phased removal of in-water infrastructure at sites off North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and in the Irminger Sea will take about 15 months and ends continuous monitoring after more than a decade. Scientists and Democratic lawmakers criticized the move as short-sighted and warned it could create a data gap and complicate future rebuilding, even as NSF says the program is not canceled and aims to prioritize evolving priorities and technologies.