NSF Starts Removing Oregon Coast Research Buoys After Trump Cuts Ocean Monitoring Funding

With scientists scheduled to start dismantling the first research buoy of a sprawling ocean monitoring system off the Oregon coast today, state Senator Jeff Merkley is spearheading a bipartisan initiative demanding the National Science Foundation (NSF) stop its plans.

The Monitoring System Provides Crucial Data to Coastal Communities and Fishermen

The NSF will be dismantling an Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) system of 900 instruments that provide crucial monitoring data to coastal communities, fishermen, and nationwide emergency preparedness.

In a letter to NSF Acting Director Brian Stone, Merkley and colleagues state that eliminating the complex ocean monitoring system ‘threatens the safety of coastal communities’ and undermines the nation’s ‘ability to monitor extreme weather events, coastal environments, and marine currents.’

The letter states that dismantling the system will affect the coasts of the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), Alaska, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Greenland. The petitioners claim this will make it difficult to track changing ocean conditions and extreme weather events, such as El Niño.

They call for the NSF to evaluate OOI before any final decision is taken.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative Was Built For $386 Million

The OOI was built for $386 million, and the ocean monitoring project was expected to continue for another 15 to 20 years.

The NSF’s removal of research buoys and sensors from the Pacific Northwest, including deep-water instruments off the Oregon coast, has been driven by federal funding cuts.

The dismantling of infrastructure in Oregon, Washington, and other sites is expected to continue through 2027.

Referring to the operation as a ‘descoping’ process, the NSF states that it will save $30 million and is part of a strategy to prioritize evolving scientific priorities.

Earlier this month, the National Academies Presidents on the Importance of the OOI said in a statement that without ocean-observing assets, the U.S. risks not having the data needed to address crucial issues, such as the impact of El Niño. It will also challenge U.S. national security.