July 31, 2026 — Scientists have begun to re-deploy ocean monitoring equipment yanked from Pacific Northwest waters by the Trump administration in September.
On Monday, an autonomous underwater vehicle called a glider slipped gently off the stern of the Research Vessel Elakha and into the Pacific Ocean about 10 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon.
Resembling a 6-foot yellow torpedo with wings, the glider is quietly motoring north to waters off Washington state while measuring conditions including rising ocean temperatures and sagging oxygen levels. Three times a day, after diving as much as 3,000 feet deep, it surfaces to transmit its oceanographic data by satellite and receive new instructions from its shore-based operators.