Dismantling the ocean monitoring networkOOIIn America, it angers representatives and threatens efforts to confront climate change

The ability to collect and analyze environmental data has become an element of the fight against climate change; This is because modern scientific climate models depend on the flow of accurate information moment after moment to monitor climate changes and measure their effects in many aspects of life on land and at sea.

With regard to the seas and oceans in particular, it appears that they have a pivotal position within global monitoring systems. Because of its extremely important role in distributing temperatures, absorbing and storing carbon, and influencing changing climate patterns on a large scale.

Therefore, researchers and decision makers benefit from it – via networksMonitoring – specialized data that enables them to understand temperature changes, ocean currents, and measure ocean acidity levels (a gradual decrease in the pH of ocean water as it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere); Then they can develop an effective response to the escalating environmental problems, which achieves Goal No. (13) Climate Action.

In light of this major reliance on marine data to support climate control research, the continuity of monitoring networks has become an issue that goes beyond the boundaries of scientific research to the scope of public policy-making and environmental risk management, and this is what one of the most important monitoring networks in the United States of America faces.

US Ocean Observing Network

In recent weeks, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has decided to begin…Dismantling parts of the US Ocean Observatory NetworkOcean Observatories Initiative (OOI) generated widespread controversy within scientific and political circles, amid warnings of the impact of this step on climate research and the ability of climate scientists to track extreme marine phenomena; Which may prevent achieving the goal: life under water.

What is the role of the US Ocean Observing Network?

Before understanding the reasons for the current controversy, it is important to learn about the American Ocean Observing Network, which is one of the most important scientific infrastructures for studying the oceans and climate change. It is an initiative established with support from the US National Science Foundation, and is designed to provide continuous data that helps researchers understand the changes taking place in the oceans and marine ecosystems.

The network includes more than 900 advanced devices and sensors distributed over five monitoring areas in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where physical, chemical, geological and biological data are collected on a permanent basis. Scientists benefit from this data to study marine heat waves and coastal floods, evaluate ocean acidification, measure the ability of the seas to sequester carbon, in addition to studying ecosystems in the deep sea.

Why does dismantling the network raise scientists’ concerns?

The Ocean Observing Network announced last May the start of the recovery of more than 900 devices distributed over four operational areas, a process expected to take about 15 months. This raised widespread objections within American scientific and political circles.

Dozens of American lawmakers have called on the National Science Foundation to retract thisThe move, considering the dismantling of the network a huge loss; Because it is a loss of one of the most important sources of data related to the oceans and climate. This comes in conjunction with proposals to reduce the budget of the National Science Foundation by 55% this year, falling from $9 billion to about $4 billion, in addition to canceling research grants worth $1.5 billion.

Opponents of the decision believe that the loss of this much data provided by the network may affect the ability of the United States and its international partners to monitor marine and climate phenomena. Some legislators have also warned that the decline of American monitoring programs may increase reliance on data provided by other countries, most notably China!

What do the oceans have to do with regulating the Earth’s climate?

The importance of the network – the American Ocean Observing Network – extendsTo follow up on one of the most important systems affecting the Earth’s climate, which is the “Atlantic meridional overturning circulation” system. It is the system responsible for transferring heat between parts of the Earth, which helps regulate global temperatures.

Scientists have been warning for years that this system is approaching a critical turning point. As a result of climate change and rising Earth temperatures, which may lead to an increase in the severity of climate phenomena and an increase in temperature differences between the tropical and polar regions.

Hence, the data provided by the Ocean Observing Network helps in continuously monitoring these changes, allowing scientists to understand potential developments and take more effective measures to adapt to climate change. This highlights the practical value that marine monitoring networks have outside the scope of scientific research.

The social and economic benefits of marine data

One of the benefits of marine data is the role it plays in preparing for natural disasters, protecting coastal communities and economic activities related to the seas through early warning mechanisms, and then helping to monitor periodic climate phenomena resulting from climate change such as theEl Niño phenomenon, which affects patterns of rain, drought and heat waves in many regions of the world.

Scientific data and forecasting future dangers

ومما تكشفه أزمة تفكيك شبكة رصد المحيطات الأمريكية، هو أنَّ البيانات العلمية أصبحت جزءًا من البنية التحتية اللازمة لمواجهة تغير المناخ، شأنها في ذلك شأن شبكات الطاقة أوearly warning systems; For this reason, it is increasingly important to maintain long-term monitoring programs that help understand the oceans and predict future climate risks.

In light of these developments,Earth Defenders Foundation looks closely at the impact of this on the position of scientific knowledge within climate control systems; Hence, it confirms that the future of climate action is determined by the extent to which countries are prepared to maintain the cognitive structure that allows understanding the ongoing transformations, before they become a global crisis that is difficult to contain. It hinders efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).