Scientists lose critical climate record as ocean observatory will go dark under Trump funding cuts

The Trump administration is dismantling a $386 million network of more than 900 ocean sensors funded by the National Science Foundation. An expert told The Associated Press Tuesday that it’s a crippling loss of information. The Ocean Observatories Initiative has collected real-time ocean data for a decade and informed more than 500 scientific publications. It was intended to run for another 15 to 20 years. Instruments will be pulled from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and south of Greenland. Scientists warn it’s a particularly precarious moment. A marine heat wave is already building off California and experts predict an El Nino event this summer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *