September 29, 2026 — New England scientists and fishermen are urging the Trump administration to continue funding the Ocean Observatories Initiative — a network of buoys and gliders that collect data from remote parts of the ocean. The National Science Foundation began quietly dismantling the deep-ocean observation system last summer, until the effort was blocked by the U.S. Senate.
The hundreds of scientific instruments remain in the water for the moment, and the federal agency is now asking for public input on the future of the system, with a deadline for comments set for September 30.
Scientists are regarding the agency’s recent request for input with cautious optimism, said Hilary Palevsky, a marine biogeochemist at Boston College. She said the abrupt removal of instruments from the water last summer “shook the community.”
“That was really different from how NSF has operated in the past,” she said.
While the system could certainly use some tweaks, upgrades and better integration with other ocean observation technology, she said, “that should be a decision that’s made with robust community engagement and peer review, not a top-down decision.”