The shipboard automated meteorological and oceanographic system (SAMOS) initiative aims to improve the quality of meteorological and near-surface oceanographic observations collected in-situ on research vessels (R/Vs) and select volunteer observing ships (VOS). Scientific objectives of SAMOS include:

• creating quality estimates of the heat, moisture, momentum, and radiation fluxes at the air-sea interface;
• improving our understanding of the biases and uncertainties in global air-sea fluxes;
• benchmarking new satellite and model products;
• providing high quality observations to support modeling activities (e.g., reanalysis) and global climate programs.

• improve access to quality assured SAMOS data for scientific and operational users by providing free and open access to data and metadata;
• expand availability of SAMOS observations collected in remote ocean regions (e.g., Southern Ocean);
• improve the accuracy and calibration of SAMOS measurements;
• provide standards for data and metadata collected on SAMOS equipped vessel;
• ensure routine archival of SAMOS data at world data centers;
• develop documentation and training materials for use by data collectors and the user community;
• support comparison studies between in-situ platforms (e.g., R/Vs, VOS, buoys);
• develop partnerships in the international marine community.