EU invests in ocean monitoring as US cuts funding

BRUSSELS (AP) — With underwater drones and ocean-focused satellites, the EU is expanding its monitoring network of Earth’s seas as climate change fuels heat waves and stronger storms and the Trump administration plans severe cuts to a similar system in the United States.

With an investment package of 92 million euros ($107 million) called OceanEye announced on Wednesday, the EU will be able to take the helm of global efforts to explore the depths of the planet's vast oceans, said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

Oceans are vital ecosystems covering about 70% of planet Earth, hosting complex webs of life that generate oxygen and absorb greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Temperatures have risen in oceans faster due to climate change, super-charging storms and drought, ravaging coral reefs across the world, and endangering species in tandem with overfishing and industrial pollution.

Scientists estimate climate change will increase the strength of heat waves and severe storms across Europe.

Monitoring the ocean can help protect it by showing damage and threats to ecosystems that help inform regulations aimed at preventing species loss.

“This is about using science and good governance to understand our ocean and secure our future,” von der Leyen said.

In May, officials in the U.S. began signaling plans to gut its Ocean Observatories Initiative — a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million that has continuously collected real-time data for more than a decade.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the observatories have tracked everything from ocean circulation and marine ecosystems to climate change and extreme weather. Its data has been freely available and has informed more than 500 scientific publications. The project was slated to run for another 15 to 20 years.

The EU investment was already in the pipeline when the U.S. cuts were announced.

International efforts are organized through the Global Ocean Observing System. The U.S. collects more than half of this data while Europe does about a quarter, followed by Japan, Australia, India and China.

“Europe needs to do more,” said Pierre-Yves Le Traon, an oceanographer and scientific director of the Mercator Ocean International based in Toulouse, France.

By 2035, the EU hopes to cover 35% of Earth’s maritime monitoring network and become the globe’s leading provider of “ocean intelligence.”

Robotic sensors in underwater and in orbit feed information to organizations like shipping companies, fisheries, emergency services and research institutions like the Mercator Ocean Institute that is building a virtual-reality mockup of Earth’s oceans to be updated in real time called the Digital Twin Ocean.

That data is crucial to understanding and adapting to climate change and to a vast array of industries on land and at sea like aquaculture, shipping especially through icy waters, coastal tourism, agriculture and even navies, Le Traon said.

“Knowledge is essential if we want to manage the ocean," Le Traon said. "We really have to be very active for the monitoring and protecting of the ocean because the ocean matters to everyone: for life at sea, for life on Earth.”

Odran Corcoran, a policy advisor for Oceana, said that only by collecting data out of the depths of the still relatively unknown ocean can lawmakers use data to regulate the management of fisheries, marine protection and restoration projects.

“Europe does not just need more ocean data; it needs data that closes biodiversity and seabed knowledge gaps," Corcoran said.

The EU funds will go toward private incubators for oceanic technology and beefing up existing institutions like the Global Ocean Observing System.

Out of the 27 EU nations, 22 have coasts along the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. France boasts the bloc’s largest ocean-focused scientific institutions as well as huge maritime borders with overseas territories from Reunion in the Indian Ocean to Saint Martin in the Caribbean.

This story corrects a previous version that stated Reunion is in the Pacific Ocean. It is in the Indian Ocean.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

FILE - Strong winds blow in the town of La Plaine Saint-Paul on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — More rain and thunderstorms were possible Monday at the Grand Canyon following a major flash flood that left one person dead and about 15 others missing or unaccounted for, with scores of visitors evacuated and the only water pipeline for tourists and residents destroyed.

Emergency water restrictions that began Monday prevented tourists from staying overnight at lodges and hotels within the park. Year-round residents were asked to conserve water.

A flood watch was in effect. Visiting the Grand Canyon — a crown jewel of the national park system — can be particularly dangerous in the summer because of the risk of flash flooding that accompanies the monsoon, or rainy season. Clear days can give way quickly to thunderstorms and downpours.

“With deep monsoonal moisture in place and already saturated soils in some locations, an elevated risk of flash flooding will be in place through Monday,” the National Weather Service said early Monday.

The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the National Park Service said without providing additional details.

The flooding Saturday in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, led to more than 60 people being airlifted from the depths of the canyon. The park service asked anyone with details about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to get in touch. The Arizona Department of Public Safety helped with additional evacuations Sunday.

“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the park said in a statement.

Parth Desai was hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with fellow physicians and a park ranger when heavy rain started falling Saturday.

“We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he said.

Later, as they made their way toward Phantom Ranch, a colleague shouted “Up, Up, Up, Up!” as a 4-foot (1-meter) debris wall headed toward them and they ran up into a patch of cacti, he said. They were rescued by helicopter late Saturday after making it to the Phantom Ranch area, he said.

Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over the creek and altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and extending an existing river rapid or creating a new one. The flood was a major blow to an enduring effort to modernize the pipeline that serves 6 million visitors a year and roughly 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village.

“Heaven help us if the whole thing down there at the bottom has to be reconstructed,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. “Where are they going to get the money?”

Halting overnight stays at the park because of a lack of water is rare, although the pipeline frequently has failed over the years. While the Grand Canyon has large storage tanks for potable water on the South Rim, they won’t be refilled while the pipeline is out of service.

A $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system started in 2023, with the park service calling it a crucial investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project was expected to be completed next year.

Stengle reported from Dallas. Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles also contributed.

This photo shows Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, after it was hit by heavy flooding a day earlier. (Craig Sanderson via AP)

This photo shows Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, after it was hit by heavy flooding a day earlier. (Craig Sanderson via AP)

Bright Angel Creek near the Phantom Ranger Station in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, is seen after flash flooding from storms, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Parth Desai via AP)