Overview
- The National Science Foundation announced a descoping plan on May 21 and began ship operations in early June to recover more than 900 in‑water instruments from the Ocean Observatories Initiative.
- NSF and OOI say recoveries will proceed in phases over about 15 months and will remove instruments from arrays off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and the Irminger Sea.
- Real‑time measurements from the removed arrays will end as hardware is recovered but the OOI Data Center will keep previously collected data available and the Regional Cabled Array and program offices will remain operating through at least September 30, 2028.
- Scientists warn the loss will create blind spots in subsurface records used to monitor ocean chemistry, marine heat waves, fisheries, El Niño signals and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation because those signals cannot be fully observed from satellites or surface ships alone.
- The move follows steep proposed funding cuts and a 2025 National Academies call to 'revision' OOI capabilities, and has prompted public criticism from researchers and Democratic lawmakers who say they will oppose the dismantling.