Lawmakers fight to stop the Trump administration’s dismantling of a $386M ocean observatory project
Lawmakers say the $386 million network provides real-time data on ocean conditions and should not be dismantled without a full review.
- On Monday, a bipartisan group of senators and two Democratic House committees demanded the National Science Foundation reverse plans to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a network of over 900 sensors, accusing the agency of acting illegally.
- The National Science Foundation described the move as "descoping" to prioritize emerging technologies, yet scientists and lawmakers claim the agency provided no warning or scientific review before directing the removal of instruments by 2027.
- Federal law requires the agency to notify Congress 30 days before decommissioning assets worth over $2.5 million, but the House letter states no notification was transmitted, calling the $386 million project's destruction "pathetic" and wasteful.
- Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska plan to file legislation Tuesday prohibiting the NSF from using federal funds to decommission instruments until a thorough review is complete.
- Losing access to data from Ocean Station Papa threatens coastal safety and fisheries management, as the network has informed over 500 scientific publications while tracking climate change for a decade.
56 Articles
56 Articles
Alaska Republican among Congress members seeking to save ocean science network
Workers retrieve a data-recording instrument in the Gulf of Alaska. The instruments have been deployed through the Ocean Observatories Initiative, which began operating in 2016 and was to continue for three decades. The National Science Foundation, under the Trump administration, plans to dismantle portions of the ssystem, including instruments in Alaska that are used to monitor weather events and help manage seafood harvests. (Photo by Dee Emri…
Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Murkowski among Congress members seeking to save ocean science network
Workers retrieve a data-recording instrument in the Gulf of Alaska. The instruments have been deployed through the Ocean Observatories Initiative, which began operating in 2016 and was to continue for three decades. The National Science Foundation, under the Trump administration, plans to dismantle portions of the ssystem, including instruments in Alaska that are used to monitor weather events and help manage seafood harvests. (Photo by Dee Emri…
Lawmakers fight to stop the Trump administration's dismantling of a $386 million ocean observatory project
Monday’s pushback against the Republican administration’s actions comes as scientists are set to remove instruments from the Pacific and as an El Niño event is predicted to arrive this summer.
Coos Bay World
Bipartisan push to protect U.S. Ocean Monitoring Systems
U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are leading a bipartisan group of Senators to demand the National Science Foundation (NSF) halt its plans to dismantle the vital Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI).
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