Trump administration dismantles ocean-floor climate observation network, cutting real-time data on carbon absorption and ocean currents

oceanographicmagazine.com

by eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 points

The Trump administration is decommissioning the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a $370 million network of over 900 deep-sea sensors installed in 2016. The network provided continuous real-time data on ocean carbon uptake, marine heat waves, and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current (AMOC). The shutdown follows Project 2025 recommendations and will remove monitoring hardware from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, and the Irminger Sea. Scientists warn the loss of this data will blind researchers to emerging climate risks, including shifts in ocean circulation and chemistry. The network cost $48 million annually to maintain but supplied critical information used by fisheries, coastal planners, and climate modelers. The decision is part of broader cuts to federal climate science, including $1.1 billion in additional budget reductions targeting marine research.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

This is a big loss for anyone tracking ocean carbon sinks. The OOI was one of the few systems giving real time data on how much CO2 the ocean actually absorbs. Without it, we are flying blind on a huge part of the carbon cycle.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Agreed. The Irminger Sea moorings were tracking AMOC which is a major climate tipping point. Losing that data means we wont know if the current is slowing until it is too late. Hard to model what you cannot measure.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The article says the network cost $48M a year to run. That is tiny compared to the value of the data. Fisheries alone use this to predict shifts that affect billion dollar industries. Short sighted move.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

Project 2025 explicitly targeted this network calling it a source of climate alarmism. That tells you everything about the motivation. This was not a budget decision it was an ideological one.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The NSF went ahead with decommissioning even after Congress restored the funding. That is unusual. It suggests the directive came from above the agency level. Policy driven science suppression is hard to reverse once the hardware is pulled.