U.S. National Science Foundation Scales Back Ocean Monitoring Network

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced plans to significantly reduce one of the world’s largest ocean observation systems, with most of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) in-water infrastructure set to be removed over the next 15 months.

As part of the restructuring, NSF will gradually shut down operations at the Endurance, Pioneer, Irminger Sea and Station Papa arrays, bringing to a close more than a decade of continuous, real-time monitoring in several of the globe’s most important ocean regions.

The decision represents a major change for the $386 million OOI program, which has been a key component of U.S. ocean research since becoming fully operational in 2016.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has initiated descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative Major Facility,” NSF said in a statement released this week.

The move follows broader proposals by the Trump administration to reduce federal science funding. The administration’s FY2026 budget request called for OOI funding to be reduced from roughly $39 million to $8 million, a cut of nearly 80 percent, and identified the program for decommissioning. Although Congress has yet to approve the FY2026 budget, NSF has already begun implementing its plan to remove infrastructure from four of the initiative’s five observing arrays.

According to OOI Principal Investigator Jim Edson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Endurance Array off the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast is currently being dismantled, with final recovery activities expected to be completed in June 2026.

The Pioneer Array off the U.S. East Coast is scheduled for recovery by June 2027. Meanwhile, the Irminger Sea Array in the North Atlantic and the Station Papa Array in the Northeast Pacific are expected to be retrieved during the summer of 2027, depending on vessel availability and operational considerations.

Once the equipment is removed, the real-time monitoring capabilities and data feeds from those locations will come to an end.

One key part of the network will continue operating. NSF confirmed that the Regional Cabled Array, a fiber-optic-connected subsea observatory located off the Oregon coast, will remain active “for the foreseeable future.” The OOI Data Center, Program Management Office and community outreach activities are also expected to continue through September 30, 2028.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative was created to provide continuous, long-term observations of physical, chemical, biological and geological conditions throughout the world’s oceans. Its extensive network of moorings, autonomous vehicles, seafloor instruments and underwater communications systems has produced one of the largest publicly available ocean datasets ever assembled.

Scientists have used OOI data to investigate climate patterns, ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, severe weather events, underwater volcanic activity and emerging maritime risks. The information has also played an important role in education and workforce development across the ocean science sector.

NSF emphasized that all previously collected data will remain accessible through the OOI Data Center and encouraged researchers to continue incorporating the archive into future work.

We encourage the community to use the ten-plus years of OOI data by including it in proposals, publications, presentations, and conversations with colleagues,” NSF said, noting that continued use of the dataset will help demonstrate the program’s scientific impact and long-term value.

The announcement comes amid wider efforts by the federal government to reduce spending and review major research infrastructure projects. NSF has not publicly provided detailed information on the financial considerations behind the decision.

For many in the oceanographic community, however, the move signals the conclusion of a landmark chapter in ocean science. The program’s focus will now shift away from active observation and toward preserving and maximizing the value of its extensive scientific data archive.