{"id":452,"date":"2026-06-18T21:40:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T21:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=452"},"modified":"2026-06-18T21:40:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T21:40:49","slug":"national-science-foundation-reverses-decision-to-dismantle-oceans-monitoring-network-after-outcry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=452","title":{"rendered":"National Science Foundation reverses decision to dismantle oceans-monitoring network after outcry"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The National Science Foundation on Thursday reversed a decision to dismantle a sprawling ocean monitoring network after vigorous objections from Democratic lawmakers and scientists who rely on it to track everything from ocean circulation to extreme weather.<\/p>\n

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The NSF issued a statement saying that it \u201cappreciates the concerns raised by the range of stakeholders\u201d and would halt efforts to remove or disable equipment. It also said it will redeploy equipment that already was removed from the water and convene an expert panel to determine the future of the network.<\/p>\n

The Ocean Observatories Initiative is a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million. Over the last decade it has tracked ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change and extreme weather, producing data freely available to the public and informing more than 500 scientific publications. The project was slated to run another 15 to 20 years.<\/p>\n

The National Science Foundation had directed the removal of most of the system\u2019s instruments from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland by 2027 \u2014 a decision scientists said came with no warning and no scientific review.<\/p>\n

The independent federal agency, established by Congress, described the move not as a cancellation but as a \u201cdescoping\u201d aligned with a strategy to prioritize \u201cevolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies.\u201d The Trump administration\u2019s proposed 2026 budget had included a 55% cut to the agency.<\/p>\n

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On Monday, a group of Democratic senators and one Republican, as well as two Democratic House committees, sent letters to the NSF asking it to reverse course on its plan. House lawmakers accused the agency of acting illegally.<\/p>\n

\u201cDismantling the OOI was supreme stupidity, and we\u2019ll keep fighting to ensure scientists, fishermen, and coastal communities can continue to utilize the critical data the OOI provides,\u201d Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said in a statement Thursday.<\/p>\n

The ocean observatory cuts were seen as part of a broader retreat from environmental and climate-related science under the Republican administration, which has moved to scale back research programs, reduce staffing at agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, and ease emissions regulations.<\/p>\n

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The National Science Foundation issued a statement Thursday saying that it \u201cappreciates the concerns raised by the range of stakeholders\u201d and would halt efforts to remove or disable equipment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNational Science Foundation reverses decision to dismantle oceans-monitoring network after outcry - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=452\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National Science Foundation reverses decision to dismantle oceans-monitoring network after outcry - Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The National Science Foundation issued a statement Thursday saying that it \u201cappreciates the concerns raised by the range of stakeholders\u201d and would halt efforts to remove or disable equipment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=452\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T21:40:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e09896005b88414084eb4bd3215ab0a\"},\"headline\":\"National Science Foundation reverses decision to dismantle oceans-monitoring network after outcry\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T21:40:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452\"},\"wordCount\":405,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0a4175b7dab1f761fa436e6acf114252.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452\",\"name\":\"National Science Foundation reverses decision to dismantle oceans-monitoring network after outcry - Alaska Moving Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0a4175b7dab1f761fa436e6acf114252.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T21:40:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e09896005b88414084eb4bd3215ab0a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=452#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0a4175b7dab1f761fa436e6acf114252.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0a4175b7dab1f761fa436e6acf114252.jpg\",\"width\":1536,\"height\":1127,\"caption\":\"Chief Warrant Officer Jeffrey Ritter, 1st Lt. aboard Coast Guard Cutter Sycamore, supervises his crew after the launch of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association weather buoy near the Hinchinbrook Entrance to Prince William Sound in Alaska, Dec. 10, 2018. 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