National Science Foundation officials said Thursday that they would no longer move forward with plans to remove underwater equipment used to collect data on weather events, marine ecosystems, and climate change after a Trump administration plan to cut the program received bipartisan pushback.
The Ocean Observatories Initiative was on the chopping block in President Donald Trump’s proposed 2026 budget as part of a broader rollback of spending related to climate change research.
“The U.S. National Science Foundation appreciates the concerns raised by the range of stakeholders that have informed us they rely on data from the Ocean Observatories Initiative,” an NSF statement reads. “Effective immediately, NSF will not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance.”
The administration sought a 55% cut to the agency, describing the OOI removal as a “descoping” rather than a cancellation.
The OOI is a network of 900 sensors scattered throughout the ocean with a price tag of $386 million. The program was started in 2009, and the sensors are meant to have a lifespan of 15-20 years, but earlier this month, the NSF started pulling them from the ocean floor. The NSF was planning to pull the instruments located off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, and Greenland by 2027.
But a bipartisan letter co-written by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) urged the NSF to conduct a thorough review of the OOI and change its course. Leading Democrats on two House committees sent a joint letter, going a step further than the senators by calling the OOI cut illegal.
“Moving forward, NSF will issue a Dear Colleague Letter to collect input from stakeholders and convene an expert panel to assess observational needs, evaluate available data sources, consider responses to the Dear Colleague Letter and help the agency identify a sustainable path for NSF’s ocean observing systems,” according to the agency. “NSF remains committed to ocean sciences, to responsible stewardship of its research infrastructure and to supporting the stakeholders that depend on it.”
HERE ARE THE STATES AND CITIES PUSHING BACK AGAINST DATA CENTERS
Murkowski told the Washington Examiner that the NSF’s change of course is a “massive win for coastal communities,” as it relies on the OOI’s research to better formulate forecasts and weather models.
“National Science Foundation’s decision to leave the OOI buoys in place is a massive win for coastal communities and fishermen around the country,” she said. “The data accessed through OOI is a game changer for so many, and I’m immensely grateful that NSF listened to our calls.”