{"id":377187,"date":"2025-12-30T04:26:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T04:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/377187\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T04:26:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T04:26:23","slug":"proposal-to-dismantle-ncar-would-have-space-science-impacts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/377187\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposal to dismantle NCAR would have space science impacts"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW ORLEANS \u2014 A proposal by the Trump administration to dismantle a leading atmospheric science center would also have implications for space science.<\/p>\n

The White House announced Dec. 16 it would direct the National Science Foundation to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. The plans were first reported by USA Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country,\u201d Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a social media post<\/a>. \u201cA comprehensive review is underway, and any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vought did not elaborate on those concerns. The USA Today report, citing an unnamed official, attributed the decision to what the official described as the \u201cwoke direction\u201d of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), the organization that manages NCAR for the NSF. Examples cited included research into wind turbines and an art series about \u201cour relationship with water.\u201d<\/p>\n

While NCAR is best known for its work in weather and climate science, the center also conducts research on space weather. Scientists at NCAR study the sun and the effects of solar activity on Earth\u2019s magnetosphere and upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n

That work includes involvement in NASA heliophysics missions. Earlier in December, NASA announced it selected the Chromospheric Magnetism Explorer, or CMEx, for further study<\/a> as part of its heliophysics Small Explorer program. CMEx, which would study a region of the sun\u2019s atmosphere called the chromosphere using an ultraviolet spectrometer, is led by NCAR scientist Holly Gilbert.<\/p>\n

NASA also selected another NCAR-led mission, the Solar Transition Region Ultraviolet Explorer, or STRUVE, in December as part of its Heliophysics Flight Opportunities for Research and Technology program. STRUVE, a cubesat planned for launch in 2029, would also study the chromosphere to better understand its links to space weather.<\/p>\n

In addition, NCAR is a partner on COSMIC-2, a joint U.S.-Taiwan mission. The six COSMIC-2 spacecraft, launched in 2019, collect radio occultation data using signals from navigation satellites to probe Earth\u2019s atmosphere, providing data for weather forecasting.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch conducted at NCAR informs our understanding of space weather hazards caused by solar storms and the atmospheric properties of other planets in and beyond our solar system,\u201d Dara Norman, president of the American Astronomical Society, said in a Dec. 19 statement expressing concern about plans to dismantle NCAR.<\/p>\n

UCAR and congressional reactions<\/p>\n

The White House announcement came during the Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the largest conference of Earth and space scientists. News of the proposal prompted an impromptu town hall at the conference as well as a press briefing.<\/p>\n

Antonio Busalacchi, president of UCAR, said at the Dec. 18 briefing that the proposal to dismantle NCAR took him by surprise. He said he learned of the plan while hosting an awards reception, after checking his phone and seeing the report.<\/p>\n

The only official notice UCAR received, he said, was advance word from NSF that it would issue a \u201cDear Colleague\u201d letter soliciting input on the future of NCAR, which he described as \u201cvery vague.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are less in the dark than we are, but this hit them cold as well,\u201d he said of NSF. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to learn what is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Busalacchi pushed back on some of the claims cited in the USA Today report. He noted that NCAR\u2019s work on wind energy forecasting with a Colorado utility saved customers $150 million over 15 years. The art exhibit mentioned in the report did not use federal funding, he said, and NCAR also complied within days with executive orders issued early in the new administration to halt activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job is to do basic and fundamental research,\u201d he said in response to claims of \u201cclimate alarmism\u201d by the White House. \u201cWe are physical scientists. We are not political scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we do is not \u2014 and I repeat, is not \u2014 policy prescriptive,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Breaking up NCAR would be costly, Busalacchi said. \u201cEvery government talks about efficiency, as they should, but to separate these activities is going to cost at least an order of magnitude more,\u201d he said, citing the need to duplicate administrative and related functions. NCAR receives about $127 million in base funding from NSF and an additional $55 million in project-specific funding from NSF, NASA, NOAA and other agencies.<\/p>\n

Busalacchi said members of Colorado\u2019s congressional delegation were drafting a letter opposing the proposal. That letter<\/a>, released Dec. 22, was signed by more than 70 members of Congress and urged House and Senate appropriations leaders to maintain \u201csustained funding\u201d for NCAR.<\/p>\n

The letter cited the White House\u2019s own fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for NSF, which described NCAR as \u201ca world-class research center\u201d in atmospheric and Earth system science. That budget, though, proposed a 40% cut to NCAR funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny attempt to dismantle this institution is dangerous, reckless and would ultimately put the United States at a very deep competitive disadvantage,\u201d Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., said in a statement. Neguse led the letter with Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both Democrats from Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cDismantling this institution doesn\u2019t make sense, and I\u2019m glad to work with my colleagues in both chambers to make sure NCAR has the funding it needs to keep operating,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n

At the briefing, Busalacchi said he was not sure what would happen next regarding efforts to break up NCAR. \u201cWe do prediction of the weather, not prediction of politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

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