A squadron of undersea gliders and sailing drones has been prowling the Gulf the past few years, looking for changes in sea temperature and ocean features known to impact the intensity of hurricanes. But budget cuts proposed in Congress could essentially end that operation.
The program helps fund and coordinate undersea gliders used to help predict hurricane strength that are based at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg and Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.
Jorge Brenner is executive director of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System. He says it will only become more critical to fisheries and coastal communities as ocean warming creates bigger and stronger storms.
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"We see that our observations and the work that we provide to different industrial sectors along the coastline, looking at coastal resiliency," he said, "they all depend on the data that we provide more than ever."
It would affect the Integrated Ocean Observing Network, of which the Gulf observing system is a part of.
It uses over 1,000 monitors in the Gulf and oceans surrounding the U.S. to track currents, water temperature, oxygen levels, acidification, red tide and algae.
The proposals would cut the program’s annual funding from $42.5 million to $10 million.
Brenner said the 75% proposed budget cuts would "cripple" the early warning system.
"Our observation sites are essential to maintaining safety operations at sea, also along the coastline, its important industries as well, such as fisheries and also maintaining observations, for example, of the red tides that have been in Florida every year," he said.
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They are launching a campaign to educate the public about the need to maintain it.
Some 80 gliders were deployed in the Gulf of Mexico for a variety of purposes in 2023.
About one-third of those gliders were deployed for hurricane missions. The U.S. Navy contributed 12 gliders to that effort.
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