Senate Blocks Trump Administration’s Plan to Dismantle Key Ocean Observation Network

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill establishing that no federal funds shall be used to “decommission or descope” the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) system, a $368 million network critical to understanding climate change and marine ecosystems.

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The Trump administration has abandoned plans to dimantle a decade-old, deep-ocean observation network that scientists have used to track changes in the ocean and monitor marine heatwaves and coastal flooding.

On May 21, the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) announced that the recovery of over 900 in-water instruments at four of five operating arrays – the Irminger Sea, Station Papa, Endurance and Pioneer Arrays – has already begun and would take approximately 15 months. 

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the $368 million network was designed to collect physical, chemical, geological, and biological ocean data for up to 30 years. Scientists used the data collected by more than 900 instruments at five arrays in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to monitor and understand marine heatwaves and coastal flooding, assess ocean acidification, measure carbon sequestration and study deep-ocean ecosystems.

The data also helped monitor changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, better known as AMOC, a key component in global climate regulation. Scientists have repeatedly warned that the AMOC is nearing a tipping point as the planet heats up. Without this constant flow of current circulation, regional temperatures would become more extreme – intense heat near the equator and freezing in the poles – making less land on Earth habitable. 

The announcement was met with heavy criticism by both scientists who rely on the OOI data for their research and US lawmakers.

Dozens of Democratic Senators and one Republican sent letters to the National Science Foundation (NSF) last Monday, urging it to “reverse course” on its dismantling of a decade-old, deep-ocean observation network that scientists have used to track changes in the ocean and monitor marine heatwaves and coastal flooding. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a measure that would block the government from dismantling the system.

The Saving the OOI Act, a two-page bill introduced by the Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, says no federal funds shall be used to “decommission or descope” the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) system until the NSF conducts a thorough review and assessment of the network with robust stakeholder engagement.

Following the bill announcement, the NSF announced on its website that it would “not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance.” It added that it was working to redeploy the since removed Endurance Array.

Featured image: Andrew Reed/WHOI via Ocean Observatories Initiative.