Saving Ocean Sensors - The Fight Over the Ocean Observatories Initiative

Save Ocean Sensors: The Fight Over the Ocean Observatories Initiative

A $386 million network of nearly 900 ocean sensors stretching across five sites from Oregon to Alaska to Greenland was being quietly dismantled, with no warning to Congress and no explanation to the public. In this episode, we trace the fight to save the Ocean Observatories Initiative: what this network actually does, why it matters far more than most people realize, and how a Democrat from Oregon and a Republican from Alaska teamed up to pass a bill stopping it in the span of a day and a half.

We talk with Craig McLean, who spent more than 40 years at NOAA, including two stints as NOAA's Chief Scientist, about what's really at stake when ocean monitoring infrastructure disappears, and why this fight is part of a much bigger pattern. We also revisit a warning from a past guest, marine ecologist Dr. Andrew Thaler, that's looking less hypothetical by the day, and lay out exactly what you can do to help make sure this win sticks.

In This Episode

• What the Ocean Observatories Initiative actually measures, and why it matters for your weather forecast, your insurance rates, and what farmers plant each season
• The Coastal Endurance Array off Oregon and Washington, and why pulling it out right as an El Nino forms is especially bad timing, per OSU oceanographer Jack Barth
• How Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) found out sensors were already being removed, and how they got the Saving the OOI Act passed unanimously in under two days
• Craig McLean's read on why this kept happening, from the role of the Office of Management and Budget to the broader pattern of cuts to federal science
• A look back at a warning from marine ecologist Dr. Andrew Thaler about Project 2025's plans for NOAA, and how that warning is playing out in real time
• What happens next: the NSF's review process, and how you can track it and find out where your own senators stand

Featured Voices

Craig McLean spent over 40 years at NOAA, where he founded the Ocean Exploration Program and served as NOAA's Chief Scientist, including being reinstated after being removed from the role for defending scientific integrity. He is now a senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation.

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) led the bipartisan push for the Saving the OOI Act, featured here via Senate floor remarks.

Dr. Andrew Thaler, marine ecologist and conservation technologist, returns in spirit from a past episode where he broke down Project 2025's plans to dismantle NOAA.

Jack Barth, oceanography professor at Oregon State University, provided background on the Coastal Endurance Array via KATU News.

The Bill

The Saving the OOI Act passed the Senate unanimously, pausing NSF's decommissioning of the Ocean Observatories Initiative pending a full review with stakeholder input. It was led by Senators Merkley and Murkowski and cosponsored by Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Resources & Links

• Saving the OOI Act, full text and cosponsor list: Congress.gov
• NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative updates: oceanobservatories.org
• Senator Merkley's press release on the Saving the OOI Act: merkley.senate.gov
• "Scientists warn Oregon could lose critical ocean data under federal cuts," KATU News

Take Action

• If your senator is one of the twelve who championed or cosponsored the Saving the OOI Act, send them a thank you.
• If they didn't, let them know this issue matters to you.
• Watch for the NSF's Dear Colleague Letter and expert panel process, your chance to weigh in on what happens to OOI long-term.