Scientists warn Trump plan to axe US ocean monitoring system will leave world ‘flying blind’
Summary
Scientists warn that President Donald Trump's plan to shut down a US ocean monitoring system will reduce the accuracy of weather and climate predictions like El Niño forecasts. This system provides important data used worldwide to track ocean heat, storms, and climate changes, and losing it could cause economic harm and weaker early warning systems.Key Facts
- The US plans to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a key part of global ocean monitoring.
- OOI collects data on ocean heat, marine ecosystems, and weather patterns from multiple oceans.
- Removing US data would cause a 163% increase in error in measuring ocean heating rates.
- Accurate ocean data is critical for weather forecasts, storm warnings, and predicting El Niño events.
- Loss of this data affects farming, disaster response, insurance, and fisheries management.
- Ocean heat content is a key measure of climate change’s impact on the entire climate system.
- The 2023-2024 El Niño was one of the strongest and was tracked using this ocean data.
- The European Union recently committed over $100 million to improve ocean monitoring, partly supporting the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).
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