On May 21, 2026, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced plans to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a deep-sea monitoring system that has collected ocean and climate data for over a decade. The $368 million system, which consists of more than 900 instruments in observation sites off the coasts of several U.S. states and the Irminger Sea between Greenland and Iceland, provides researchers with data on ocean health, current patterns, marine biodiversity, and climate change.
In the announcement, NSF laid out the plan to remove “all in-water infrastructure” over the next 15 months, which NSF spokesman Mike England described as a “descope,” rather than a complete cancellation of the program. According to England, the move aligns with the agency’s “wider strategy of a nimbler approach to prioritize support for evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies.”
Researchers have expressed concern over the planned dismantling. Hilary Palevsky, a professor of marine biogeochemistry and oceanography at Boston College, said that the loss of data will be significant given the technical engineering required to set up and maintain the instruments. “As we reduce the amount of data that we have, the observations, as well as the science more generally to understand what’s happening in the climate system, it makes it much harder for us as a society to understand what we’re facing and what we need to do to plan for and adapt to it,” she said.
The notice came days after President Trump terminated all 22 members of the National Science Board, the independent body that oversees the NSF.