U.S. Dismantles Critical Ocean Monitoring System Amid Record Sea Temperatures
The Trump administration has announced plans to dismantle the $368 million Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a deep-ocean monitoring system established in 2016. This system, comprising around 900 instruments across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, has been instrumental in tracking ocean health, including shifts in chemistry and changes to critical ocean currents like the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds the initiative, stated that the decision aligns with a strategy to prioritize emerging scientific priorities and technologies. However, the move has sparked widespread concern among scientists, as it comes during a period of record-breaking sea temperatures, an imminent super El Niño, and fears of a potential collapse of the AMOC. The dismantling process will occur over the next 15 months, removing infrastructure from key locations, including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, and the North Atlantic near Greenland.