Trump Is Scrapping 900 Deep-Sea Sensors Used to Track El Niño

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced plans to dismantle a network of over 900 deep-sea sensors deployed across Pacific and Atlantic waters, including sites off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, and the Irminger Sea near Iceland. The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a $386 million project funded by taxpayers, has been repeatedly targeted by the Trump administration since 2025, with the NSF now removing one sensor near Oregon on June 16 and completing the shutdown by 2027. The network, operational since 2015, provided critical subsurface temperature data for El Niño modeling, which scientists warn could reduce accuracy in predicting deadly climate events. Oceanographer Ed Dever of Oregon State University called the loss ‘a crippling blow to information,’ noting that the sensors also monitored tsunamis, underwater ‘dead zones’ with low oxygen, and global climate patterns. Beyond El Niño, the OOI tracked the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a key ocean current whose potential collapse could accelerate extreme weather. The project’s 10-year data record, publicly accessible, supported international climate research, but researchers had planned for 25–30 years of continuous monitoring to fully understand ocean-climate interactions. The NSF’s decision reverses decades of planning, leaving a gap in long-term ocean data collection. Scientists fear the loss will hinder efforts to detect early warning signs of climate-related disasters, including shifts in ocean currents and rising sea temperatures.