Develop a sustained system of calibrated, quality-assured marine meteorological observations
built around the surface flux reference sites, drifting buoys, research vessels (R/Vs), and volunteer observing ships (VOS)
to support science objectives of national and international climate programs.
Improve global data coverage, especially from important but data sparse regions (e.g., Southern Ocean), by
working with and making use of national and international observing efforts, research programs, and
infrastructure development initiatives.
Establish a data assembly center (DAC) for U.S. R/V (e.g., UNOLS, NOAA, Navy, Coast Guard) meteorological
observations to unify data collection, quality assurance (QA), and distribution. The DAC will also provide
for permanent data archiving and long-term availability of data at national archive centers.
Establish standards for sensor calibration and data collection on ships and moorings, including accuracy
and resolution, sampling rates and averaging periods, data acquisition and display software, data
transmission, recommended instrument siting, and provision of metadata.
Produce a reference manual of best procedures and practices for the observation and documentation of
meteorological parameters, including radiative and turbulent fluxes, in the marine environment. The manual
will be maintained online and will be a resource for marine weather system standards.
Develop a portable, state-of-the-art, standard instrument suite and implement on-board inter-comparison
between the portable standard and shipboard instruments to improve R/V and VOS automated meteorological
observations.
Endorse development of robust sensors for use in severe environments to improve data accuracy and allow
accurate data to be collected from data sparse regions.
Implement a program in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of the wind flow regime over ships to
determine optimal wind sensor siting, wind correction factors, and effective measurement heights.
Encourage (i.e. fund) R/Vs to schedule meteorological inter-comparisons with surface flux reference sites
and, where appropriate, with one another.
Recommend that certain ship data not currently logged be made available to the research crew (e.g.,
pitch/roll, heading, currents, speed of ship in water). These data should be routinely recorded to improve
flux calculations and QA.
Encourage funding agencies to require that new shipboard meteorological instrumentation purchased within
research grants be installed and operated, and the measurements distributed and archived according to the
principles embodied in points 3-6 above.
Establish sources/contacts where expertise can be obtained by operators and made available for QA
development.
Strongly encourage funding agencies to support human capital development through education and
training.