The National Science Foundation said Thursday it was halting efforts to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million. The decision follows vigorous objections from Democratic lawmakers and scientists who depend on the system to monitor ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change and extreme weather.
The NSF issued a statement saying it “appreciates the concerns raised by the range of stakeholders” and would stop removing or disabling equipment. The agency also said it will redeploy equipment that had already been removed from the water and convene an expert panel to examine the future of the network.
Over the past decade, the Ocean Observatories Initiative has tracked ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change and extreme weather, producing data that is freely available to the public and has informed more than 500 scientific publications. The project was originally slated to continue operating for another 15 to 20 years.