Lawmakers urge National Science Foundation to halt ocean observatory shutdown

Democratic senators, one Republican senator, and two Democratic House committees sent letters Monday to the National Science Foundation asking the agency to reverse its plan to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative. The network consists of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million.

Over the last decade the sensors have tracked ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change and extreme weather, producing data freely available to the public and informing more than 500 scientific publications.

Project timeline and scope The project was slated to run another 15 to 20 years.

House lawmakers went further than the senators and accused the agency of acting illegally in moving to end the program.

Congressional response The letters were sent Monday.

“A group of Democratic senators and one Republican, as well as two Democratic House committees, sent letters on Monday to the National Science Foundation asking it to reverse course on its plan to dismantle a sprawling ocean monitoring network." — The Guardian, June 16, 2026 The Ocean Observatories Initiative data has been used in research on ocean conditions and weather patterns. Officials have not yet responded to the congressional letters.”