Trump administration reverses course on plan to dismantle ocean monitoring network

The effort to pull some 900 ocean-monitoring buoys and sensors from the water drew backlash from scientists and lawmakers

By Dan Vergano edited by Claire Cameron

The entrance of 2514 Eisenhower Avenue, where the National Science Foundation is also located, is seen on July 8, 2025, in Alexandria, Va.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

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The Trump administration is backing off plans to dismantle a crucial U.S. ocean monitoring system, the National Science Foundation (NSF) confirmed on Thursday. The reversal comes after the agency’s May 21 announcement of its intent to remove hundreds of deep-sea buoys and sensors employed by the $368-million Ocean Observatories Initiative had drawn congressional and international backlash.

“Effective immediately, NSF will not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance,” the agency said in a statement on Thursday. The plan’s reversal was first reported by the New York Times.

On Monday 11 U.S. senators sent a bipartisan letter saying that dismantling the ocean system “threatens the safety of our coastal communities,” as well as jeopardizing oceans research.

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In an earlier statement, before the plan’s reversal, an NSF spokesperson said that the agency had sought to transition to a “nimbler approach to prioritize support for evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies, as well as smart lifecycle management within its research infrastructure portfolio.”

With hurricane season approaching and the National Weather Service’s announcement this month that El Niño conditions are likely to strengthen in the next year, withdrawing the ocean sensors had worried observers. In its Thursday announcement, NSF said that an array of sensors off the Oregon coast would be redeployed in the water after servicing and would not be decommissioned.

“NSF remains committed to ocean sciences, to responsible stewardship of its research infrastructure and to supporting the stakeholders that depend on it,” the agency said in the statement.

Editor’s Note (6/18/26): This story is in development and may be updated.

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