SEATTLE — On June 15, 2026, Democratic senators and one Republican senator sent a letter to the National Science Foundation, requesting the agency halt the dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative. Separately, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the House Natural Resources Committees sent a letter to the NSF, alleging the agency acted illegally in winding down the project.

The NSF directed the removal of most instruments from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, and Greenland by 2027. The agency characterized this reduction as a "descoping" intended to align with evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies. On June 3, the NSF stated its decision was partially based on a 2025 National Academies report regarding ocean science.

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska co-led the Senate letter. The letter was also signed by Sens. Edward Markey, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chris Van Hollen, and Ron Wyden. Merkley said, "This program is authorized, it’s funded, and for the administration to shut it down without direction from Congress violates that vision in which the people’s representatives decide what’s done and funded, and the executive branch executes that vision."

Federal appropriations law requires the NSF to notify congressional Appropriations Committees at least 30 days before decommissioning assets valued over $2.5 million. The House letter stated that this required 30-day legal notification was not transmitted to Congress. Merkley stated, "If there was no notification, this would appear to be illegal." Merkley and Murkowski planned to introduce legislation prohibiting the NSF from spending federal funds to decommission instruments until a thorough review is completed.

The bipartisan group of senators stated, "Eliminating most of this complex ocean monitoring system threatens the safety of our coastal communities while undermining our nation’s ability to monitor coastal environments, marine currents, and extreme weather events." They also said, "The loss of this deep-water observation system would threaten our ability to prepare for and monitor future El Niño events." The NSF stated, "NSF remains committed to ocean science and will continue working with the scientific community on high-priority research objectives." Scientists are scheduled to retrieve the first buoy off the Oregon coast on Tuesday.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative consists of more than 900 ocean sensors. The sensor network cost $386 million to construct. Over the past decade, the network has recorded data on ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change, and extreme weather. The project produced publicly accessible data that contributed to over 500 scientific publications. The initiative was originally scheduled to operate for an additional 15 to 20 years.