A federal judge stopped the Trump administration on Monday from dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of the country’s top climate science organizations.
In approving a motion for preliminary injunction by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the judge, R. Brooke Jackson, prevented the National Science Foundation from transferring NCAR’s Wyoming-based supercomputing facility to another operator. NSF announced the move in February, but never said where the supercomputing facility would go.
Such a move “would result in the loss of jobs, disrupt ongoing research projects, and impede UCAR’s ability to perform its contractual obligations,” stated the April motion by UCAR, the nonprofit that operates NCAR. “A transfer would also undermine the nation’s ability to forecast and respond to devastating natural disasters, risking lives and property.”
The decision on Monday rejected NSF’s argument that the court does not have jurisdiction over the case. It also lends support to UCAR’s assertions that moving the supercomputing facility, known as NWSC, would cause irreparable harm. The organization has experienced a significant “brain drain” since the transfer was announced, the ruling said, with dozens of specialized UCAR employees exiting over the last few months.
