The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it will significantly reduce the size of one of the largest ocean observing networks in the world. This includes plans to remove most in-water infrastructure...
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it will significantly reduce the size of one of the largest ocean observing networks in the world. This includes plans to remove most in-water infrastructure connected to the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) over the next 15 months.
Under this plan, NSF will stop operations at several arrays, including Endurance, Pioneer, Irminger Sea, and Station Papa. This marks the end of a decade-long project that has provided continuous, real-time observations from critically important ocean regions.
This decision represents a significant change for the $386 million OOI program, which has been a key part of U.S. ocean science since it became fully operational in 2016.
In a statement released this week, NSF said, “The U.S. National Science Foundation has initiated descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative Major Facility.”
This decision comes as part of wider proposed cuts to federal science spending under the Trump administration. The proposed budget for FY2026 suggests reducing funding for the OOI from about $39 million to $8 million, a nearly 80% cut, and recommends decommissioning the facility. Although Congress has not finalized the budget for FY2026, NSF has already started implementing a descoping plan that will see the removal of in-water infrastructure from four of OOI's five observing arrays over the next 15 months.
According to Jim Edson, the OOI Principal Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Endurance Array off the U.S. Pacific Northwest is currently being taken apart, with the final recovery operations planned for June 2026.
The Pioneer Array, located offshore from the U.S. East Coast, is expected to be fully recovered by June 2027. The Irminger Sea Array in the North Atlantic and the Station Papa Array in the Northeast Pacific are scheduled for recovery during the summer of 2027, depending on vessel availability and operational factors.
As the equipment is taken down, the real-time data streams and observing capabilities from these locations will come to an end.
However, one part of the network will continue to operate. NSF stated that the Regional Cabled Array, a subsea observatory connected by fiber-optic cable off the Oregon coast, will remain active “for the foreseeable future.” The OOI Data Center, Program Management Office, and community engagement efforts are also expected to continue until September 30, 2028.
The Ocean Observatories Initiative was created to provide continuous, long-term monitoring of various processes in the global ocean, including physical, chemical, biological, and geological aspects. Its system of moorings, autonomous vehicles, seabed instruments, and underwater communications has produced one of the largest publicly available ocean datasets in the world.
Researchers have used data from the OOI to explore climate variations, ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, extreme weather events, underwater volcanism, and emerging maritime risks. This data has also supported educational programs and workforce development in the ocean sciences community.
NSF has stated that all previously collected data will remain accessible through the OOI Data Center, encouraging researchers to continue using this archive in scientific publications, grant proposals, and educational programs.
“We encourage the community to make use of the ten-plus years of OOI data by including it in proposals, publications, presentations, and discussions with colleagues,” NSF noted, explaining that this will showcase the program’s scientific impact and long-term significance.
This announcement coincides with broader federal efforts to cut spending and reevaluate major research infrastructure programs, although NSF has not detailed the budgetary reasons for the descoping decision.
For the oceanographic community, this move indicates the end of a significant era for one of the most ambitious ocean observing systems ever created, shifting the program’s focus from active observation to preservation and analysis of its extensive scientific records.