The US National Science Foundation will largely remove mooring arrays from the Ocean Observatories Initiative following federal funding reductions. Scientists say the move will impair monitoring of El Niño events and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
The arrays, part of a network off the US coasts and Greenland, have provided data on ocean temperatures, salinity and chemistry since their establishment. Last month the NSF announced the removal after budget cuts by the Trump administration. The OOI costs $56 million annually. Officials said the decision aims to prioritise evolving scientific priorities. Researchers including John Abraham and Hilary Palevsky warned that the loss will reduce accuracy in weather forecasts and limit observations of a possible AMOC weakening. The Irminger Sea array contributes to the OSNAP project tracking water flows that influence European climate. Edward Dever noted the changes also include a proposed rule ending peer review of NSF grants. A study found that losing even one-fifth of similar global instruments would increase errors in ocean heating measurements by 33 per cent.