The National Science Foundation announced plans to scale back a major ocean-monitoring network that scientists have relied on for more than a decade to track greenhouse gases, ocean temperatures, marine heat waves, and coastal flooding.
“The U.S. National Science Foundation communicated to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on May 8, 2026 that it planned to descope support for elements of the Ocean Observatories Initiative,” Mike England, head of media affairs for the NSF, said in a statement. “This decision aligns with NSF’s wider strategy to have a nimbler approach to prioritizing support for evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies as well as a deliberate approach to smart lifecycle management within its portfolio of research infrastructure.”
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The move will gradually dismantle large portions of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $368 million system of deep-ocean sensors and research infrastructure deployed across several regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Among the sites affected is the Irminger Sea, located between Greenland and Iceland in the North Atlantic, which has provided researchers with continuous measurements of ocean and atmospheric conditions since it was established roughly a decade ago.
According to the NSF, the agency’s “descoping plan includes the phased recovery and removal of in-water infrastructure from the Endurance, Pioneer, Irminger Sea, and Station Papa Arrays over the next approximately 15 months.”
The process is already underway at the Endurance Array off the Pacific Northwest coast, where final recovery operations are scheduled for June 2026. The Pioneer Array is expected to be recovered in June 2027, pending ship availability and operational considerations.
Scientists have used data collected through the observatories to study how the oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, monitor shifts in ocean circulation, track marine heat waves that can disrupt fisheries, and better understand coastal flooding risks along the East Coast.
In announcing the changes, the NSF emphasized that the scientific value of the observatory’s extensive data archive will remain available to researchers.
“We encourage the community to use the ten-plus years of OOI data by including it in proposals, publications, presentations, and conversations with colleagues,” the agency said. “Continued engagement demonstrates the scientific impact and wide-ranging applications enabled by the OOI and its data, underscoring its importance as a resource for the oceanographic community.”
While real-time observations from the affected arrays will cease once equipment is recovered, the NSF said all previously collected data will remain accessible through the OOI Data Center. The initiative’s Regional Cabled Array, data center, program management office, and community engagement programs will continue operating through September 30, 2028.
The decision comes after the Ocean Observatories Initiative saw steep funding reductions following the Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget proposals, with its budget cut by 80%. The Trump administration argued that federal climate and environmental research programs have drifted away from core agency missions and become vehicles for activism and diversity initiatives.
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In a policy memorandum accompanying the 2027 budget proposal, the administration criticized climate-related education and outreach efforts funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, arguing that grants had supported programs that promoted “climate anxiety” discussions, diversity-focused climate education initiatives, and what officials described as “radical community activism through a grant … for environmental literacy.”
The memorandum further argued that NOAA had “consistently funded efforts to radicalize students against markets and spread environmental alarmism” and said the administration was seeking to eliminate “climate-dominated research programs that are not aligned with Administration policy,” a move it estimated would save taxpayers roughly $1.6 billion.
