{"id":4113,"date":"2026-08-03T09:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T07:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/?p=4113"},"modified":"2026-08-03T09:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T07:31:02","slug":"ocean-scientists-stand-up-against-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/en\/2026\/08\/03\/ocean-scientists-stand-up-against-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean scientists stand up against Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In his fight against climate research, the Trump government decided to abruptly stop funding long-term ocean research. This research is, among many other things, essential for climate models. Trump seemed to get his way, but he had not counted on the united reactions of scientists, media and politics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Longterm ocean research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ocean regulates the gas and heat storage of the planet. 1<\/a><\/sup> Half of the world’s oxygen is formed in the ocean, while 25% of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions on earth between 1960 and 2010 is absorbed by the ocean. 2<\/a><\/sup> Moreover, the ocean has stored 90% of the heat added to our climate system in the last 50 years forming a large buffer limiting the effects of global warming. Therefor the ocean is super important. But the ocean is a complex eco-system that we still know very little about. Therefor long-term research projects are designed to better understand the ocean and the ocean-climate link<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Trump administration denies climate change is caused by the use of fossil fuels and proposed significant cuts to many science agencies in its budget request<\/a> for fiscal year 2027, including a 54% cut to the National Science Foundation (NSF, financing research like the Dutch NWO) and no funding for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s research). 3<\/a><\/sup> This threatens long-term research and is a disaster for climate research. In May 2026, the NSF began pulling equipment out of the ocean under pressure from the government and budget cuts. This equipment is part of a large long-term American project, OOI. 4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OOI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is a science-driven ocean observing network that delivers real-time data from more than 900 instruments. OOI was designed as a long-term project to collect ocean data for up to 30 years, now running for 10 years. This longevity makes it possible to measure and directly observe both short-lived episodic events and longer term changes occurring in the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OOI consisted of five stations with arrays that are continually collecting data about ocean conditions. The data collected are transmitted through a cyberinfrastructure, making it possible for anyone with an Internet connection to download ocean data in real time. The northernmost station is in the Irminger Sea, two stations are in the Northeast Pacific Ocean near the US coast, two stations were in the Southern Hemisphere, near the Argentine basin and in the Southern Ocean. The instrumented arrays gather physical, chemical, geological, and biological data from the air-sea interface to the seafloor, providing a wealth of information for research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the two Southern stations were already suspended as of December 2017, during Trump’s first term. 5<\/a><\/sup> And as said above, at the end of May 2026 NSF started to dismantle one of the northern stations in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OSNAP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the Irminger Sea the OOI station is joined by moorings and equipment from another international research cooperation: OSNAP (Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program). 6<\/a><\/sup> Participating countries are Canada, China, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the USA. The project is designed to provide a continuous record of the full-water column, trans-basin fluxes of heat, mass and freshwater in the subpolar North Atlantic. The OSNAP arrays attempt to determine variability and measure trends in the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Ocean Current). 7<\/a><\/sup> The AMOC is important for the global climate, and especially the European climate, due to its role in redistributing heat, freshwater, and dissolved gases over broad spatial scales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Schematic view of OSNAP the stations. Sea currents are indicated by white arrows, when in red tubes where relatively warm water flows northwards, and in blue tubes where cooled water flowing southwards. Yellow dots represent buoys stretching lines with equipment (red dots). 8<\/a><\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time of writing, Dutch scientists are on board the of the American research vessel \u2018Neil Armstrong\u2019, servicing these arrays. 9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Ship deck, with elements of the OOI moorings ready for deployment (picture: Elodie Duyck, July 2026)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"
An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) mounted on a “smartie” (it looks like the sweet!) buoy, as part of one of the OSNAP moorings. ADCP\u2019s measure ocean currents across a 500m depth range. (picture: Elodie Duyck, July 2026<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Opposition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The US Senate has already twice prevented a budget cut and the OOI equipment from being dismantled. 10<\/a><\/sup> 11<\/a><\/sup> Newspaper articles criticized the decision to remove the equipment from the water using words like: \u201cextreme stupidity”. 12<\/a><\/sup> 13<\/a><\/sup> June 18, the NSF website reacted with the message that these buoys will be returned to the ocean. 14<\/a><\/sup> Unfortunately, this will take at least six months. 15<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposition in Europe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Europe at last begins to realise the importance of the ocean and ocean research in climate change context. A reservation is made for \u20ac12 million to support global ocean data systems. Moreover the project OceanEye has been written and is reserving a budget to invest \u20ac50 million to strengthen the EU’s contribution to the Global Ocean Observing System. 16<\/a><\/sup> 17<\/a><\/sup> 18<\/a><\/sup> OceanEye is an EU initiative to boost ocean observation, enhance the ability to understand and manage the marine environment and maritime activities and strengthen Europe\u2019s related innovation and industrial base. Unfortunately, industry and fisheries are mentioned up front. And OceanEye is not yet up and running, the research vessels that service the present-day observing systems will already have to be financed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actions by scientists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Individual scientist came into action and formed advisory groups for politicians. Following examples are of actions by scientist working in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists working at NIOZ (the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) contributed to a report<\/em> published by the Reykjavik Institute on 3 May 2026. This report examines the structural vulnerabilities facing the basin-wide OSNAP observing system. 19<\/a><\/sup> Consequences for the Nordic countries of climate change are deemed to be large. This report is offered as a contribution to Nordic ministerial deliberations in 2026 and to the European institutional processes now under way as the OceanEye initiative. The main message of the report is that a fundamental shift in mentality is required. A wait-and-see posture could have drastic consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NIOZ scientists, together with the Chief Scientific Officer at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton tried to get the message trough to the general public by an article in the Guardian. 20<\/a><\/sup> The article points out that funding for OSNAP is extremely vulnerable and that monitoring the AMOC is not an academic pursuit. It has an urgent, global priority. An alternative international funding strategy is needed to secure long-term AMOC monitoring. It further emphasises that the measurements done so far must serve as benchmark for climate models and have critically improved our understanding of the AMOC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get financing is the bottle neck. In the Texelse Courant (Friday 19 June) Sjoerd Groeskamp, one of the active Dutch scientists compares the necessary \u20ac25 million per year<\/strong> necessary to keep the monitoring system alive with the \u20ac1 billion per day<\/strong> spend in the war with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dutch scientists also visit the European Union where they lobby for their (and our!) cause, among others by writing a letter to Wopke Hoekstra, a Dutch politician who serves as European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean. A copy of this letter can be found in: 21<\/a><\/sup> .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessing in disguise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trumps attempt to stop ocean research resulted in an opposition that hopefully will continue and result in guaranteed funding for long-term ocean research in the short term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A final note: this text is aimed at the measures of the Trump administration, but other major powers are also cutting back on climate research. As already pointed out Europe is putting industry at the forefront of the OceanEye project, we have to be prepared for more action!<\/p>\n

  1. https:\/\/marine.copernicus.eu\/nl\/explainers\/why-ocean-important<\/a>[\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  2. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s43017-022-00381-x<\/a>[\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  3. https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/research<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  4. https:\/\/oceanobservatories.org\/<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  5. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5670\/oceanog.2018.105<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  6. https:\/\/www.o-snap.org\/<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  7. https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atlantic_meridional_overturning_circulation<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  8. https:\/\/www.o-snap.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/osnap_array_schematic_20160401.jpg<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  9. https:\/\/www.nioz.nl\/en\/news-and-blogs\/blog\/osnap-2026-expedition-servicing-parts-of-the-amoc-monitoring-array<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  10. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/01\/climate\/ocean-observatories-initiative.html <\/a>[\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  11. https:\/\/x.com\/maxinejoselow\/status\/2067627125528571926<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  12. https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/environment\/story\/2026-06-17\/lawmakers-fight-to-keep-386-million-ocean-observation-network<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  13. https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/06\/04\/climate\/trump-omb-funding-rule-climate-science<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  14. https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/update-ocean-observatories-initiative<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  15. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/18\/climate\/trump-ocean-observatories-initiative.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rFA.vRH3.iNupMVQ0K8X1&smid=url-share<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  16. https:\/\/goosocean.org\/<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  17. https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/PDF\/?uri=CELEX:52026DC0268<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  18. https:\/\/webgate.ec.europa.eu\/circabc-ewpp\/d\/d\/workspace\/SpacesStore\/587434ac-7e61-4c65-92f1-4d71c352e5e6\/download<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  19. https:\/\/library.arcticportal.org\/2963\/1\/AMOC_Observation_as_Critical_Infrastructure.pdf<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  20. https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2026\/jun\/14\/amoc-collapse-europe-climate<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  21. https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/mohammed-chahim_europa-klimaatverandering-golfstroom-ugcPost-7455660402241351680-dNft?rcm=ACoAACbYOfsB28vCwjAVXdecs9jajO6pqT2emec<\/a> [\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In his fight against climate research, the Trump government decided to abruptly stop funding long-term ocean research. This research is, among many other things, essential for climate models. Trump seemed to get his way, but he had not counted on the united reactions of scientists, media and politics. Longterm ocean research The ocean regulates the … Lees verder<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-our-experts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4113"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4213,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113\/revisions\/4213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}