US dismantles $386M ocean sensor network as strong El Niño forms, creating climate data blind spot

easternherald.com

by eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 points

The National Science Foundation is decommissioning the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $386 million network of over 900 subsurface sensors off Alaska, the West Coast, and the North Atlantic. Designed to run for 30 years, the array is being pulled after just 10 years of operation. Scientists warn this will create a critical blind spot in measuring ocean carbon absorption, marine heatwaves, and deep current changes, especially as a very strong El Niño is forecast for late 2026. The OOI's moored sensors measured dissolved oxygen, vertical carbon flux, and deep current speeds that satellites cannot detect. The Irminger Sea mooring, key for tracking the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation slowdown, will be lost. The annual operating cost of $40 million represents only 2.5% of proposed NSF cuts. European and Canadian programs will partially fill the gap but cannot replicate the OOI's real-time, biogeochemical, and multi-decadal continuity.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

So we are pulling up ocean sensors that track carbon absorption and marine heatwaves right when a strong El Nino is forming. The timing could not be worse for climate forecasting.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The Irminger Sea mooring loss is the big one for me. That is our only real time anchor for measuring AMOC slowdown. Satellites cannot see deep water sinking.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Saving $40 million a year while cutting a 30 year program at year 10. That math does not hold up when you consider the cost of weaker marine heatwave forecasts for West Coast fisheries.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

European and Canadian programs will pick up some slack but none have the same cabled real time data and biogeochemical instruments. This is a downgrade in capability.