» VOS Scheme
The Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Scheme is an international programme comprising member countries of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that recruit ships to take, record and transmit weather observations whilst at sea.
Since 1999, the marine activities of WMO as well as those of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, have been coordinated by the Joint WMO/IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM). The VOS Scheme is a core observing programme of the Ship Observations Team (SOT) in the Observations Programme Area of JCOMM.
» Port Meteorological Officers
Port Meteorological Officers are a vital component of the VOS Scheme. They are responsible for recruiting ships into, and maintaining the national Voluntary Observing Fleet (VOF), as well as servicing ships from other national VOF that may call at their port. They are also becoming increasingly involved in supporting complementary and supplementary national, regional or global marine meteorological or oceanographic programmes.
» Supplementary Programs & Projects
Ships participating in the VOS Scheme often participate in supplementary marine meteorological or oceanographic observing programmes or projects such as the VOS Climate Project (VOSClim).