Trump Administration Moves to Decommission Deep-Sea Climate Monitoring Network Critical for Ocean Research]

Trump Administration Moves to Decommission Deep-Sea Climate Monitoring Network Critical for Ocean Research]

The Trump administration is dismantling a $368 million deep-ocean observation system that has monitored coastal environments, marine ecosystems, and climate-influencing currents for over a decade.

The National Science Foundation will begin removing more than 900 deep-sea instruments from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, and the Irminger Sea between Greenland and Iceland starting in June.

Scientists have relied on this network to study ocean absorption of greenhouse gases, marine heat waves, and their impacts on fisheries and climate patterns. The system provided crucial data on coastal flooding along the East Coast and tracked changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current—a global ocean circulation pattern whose potential weakening scientists warn could trigger severe weather disruptions.

The Irminger Sea moorings, positioned at depths of 9,200 feet, were integral to international research on this overturning current. Each station features multiple moorings equipped with instruments measuring temperature, chemical composition, and biological conditions from surface waters to extreme depths.

NSF officials characterized the decision as aligning with a strategic shift toward more flexible research priorities. However, former NOAA scientist Craig McLean criticized the move as evidence of inadequate understanding of scientific value, arguing it diminishes U.S. leadership in global science.

The system, launched in 2016 with a planned 25-year lifespan, cost $48 million annually—funding repeatedly restored by Congress after Trump proposals to cut it by 80%. Managers reduced operations during budget constraints, but NSF proceeded with full decommissioning.

Researchers like Boston College’s Hilary Palevsky, who studied carbon dioxide absorption using Irminger Sea data, called the dismantling premature. “This was a huge engineering challenge,” Palevsky noted. “There’s expertise that could be lost.” Scientists emphasized that remote data collection previously avoided dangerous annual research voyages.

The network, coordinated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with Rutgers University, University of Washington, and Oregon State University, will complete removal within 15 months. Seismic instruments near an underwater Oregon volcano will remain operational until 2028.

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