Stop the Dismantling of America's Ocean Monitoring Network

NSF is pulling 900 ocean instruments despite Congress funding the program twice.

A letter to your members of Congress. Facts checked June 4, 2026.

The Letter

Subject Oppose Dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative

The National Science Foundation is sending ships this month to pull 900 deep-sea instruments out of the Atlantic and Pacific. The Ocean Observatories Initiative cost $368 million, has collected a decade of continuous data on ocean temperature, currents, and chemistry, and was designed to run for 25 years. NSF is shutting it down at the halfway mark.

Congress rejected 80% funding cuts to this program in both 2025 and 2026. NSF moved ahead with decommissioning anyway. That is an agency defying the will of Congress with appropriated funds.

One of the arrays being removed tracks the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, the ocean conveyor belt that regulates weather across North America and Europe. Scientists warn AMOC could collapse this century. Removing the instruments that track it means we will have less ability to see it coming.

Demand that the NSF halt decommissioning of Ocean Observatories Initiative arrays. Investigate why NSF is dismantling infrastructure that Congress funded. Restore full OOI operations and protect the AMOC, fisheries, and climate monitoring data this country needs.

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Call Your Representative

U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

I'm calling about the National Science Foundation dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative.
NSF is pulling 900 deep-sea instruments from the Atlantic and Pacific. This $368 million network was designed to run 25 years. They are shutting it down halfway through.
Congress rejected 80% funding cuts in 2025 and 2026. NSF moved ahead with decommissioning anyway.
One array tracks the Atlantic overturning circulation. Scientists warn it could collapse this century. We are pulling the instruments that would warn us.
I'm asking you to demand NSF halt the decommissioning and investigate why the agency defied congressional appropriations.

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The Facts Behind the Ask

900+ deep-sea instruments being removed from Atlantic and Pacific oceans starting June 2026 (source)
$368M total cost of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, designed to run 25 years, shut down at 10 (source)
80% NSF funding cuts Congress rejected in both 2025 and 2026 before NSF decommissioned anyway (source)
25% of global annual fish catch monitored by the Endurance Array now being dismantled (source)

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