National Science Foundation Announces Plans to Scale Back Ocean Monitoring Network

The National Science Foundation has announced plans to scale back a major ocean-monitoring network. The $368 million network of instruments collects data in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Scientists have relied on the system for more than a decade to track greenhouse gases, ocean temperatures, marine life, and flooding. The network has been critical to climate and ocean research, according to reports.

The Trump administration is ending the ocean monitoring system. The National Science Foundation announced the plans to scale back the network, which had been used to track temperature and flooding data.

The monitoring system consisted of instruments deployed across both major oceans. Researchers used the data collected to study various oceanic and atmospheric conditions over an extended period.

The decision to scale back the network comes after more than a decade of operation. Scientists had utilized the system's data for tracking multiple environmental metrics, including greenhouse gas levels and ocean temperature variations.