The Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) and the Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS) are formalising a collaborative partnership to advance and deepen scientific understanding of ocean-atmosphere interactions. This partnership merges SOLAS’s long-standing expertise in biogeochemical and physical processes with OASIS’s leadership in physical flux observations and operational oceanography, enabling a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to observing, modeling, and understanding the dynamic air-sea interface.
Through this affiliation, OASIS will become an officially recognised partner in the upcoming SOLAS 2026–2035 science plan, while SOLAS will designate liaisons to the OASIS Scientific Steering Committee. Together, the two programs will co-develop integrated strategies from small-scale process studies to Earth System Model improvements and capacity building in the Global South to joint participation in significant international efforts such as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Key areas of collaboration include:
• Air-sea transition zone physical-biogeochemical process studies
• Integration of physical and biogeochemical satellite and in situ observational datasets
• Parameterisation of ocean-atmosphere interactions in coupled climate models
• Advancing Earth System Modeling through constrained air-sea flux estimates
• Support for early career researchers via training, liaisons, and interdisciplinary capacity-building programs
The partnership also includes a shared commitment to public engagement, standardised methodologies, and developing educational resources and events such as workshops, town halls, and curriculum initiatives. Regular meetings and representation on each other’s governance structures will ensure ongoing coordination, communication, and community alignment.
SOLAS and OASIS will work together to enhance the global impact of air-sea research by creating a more connected and solution-oriented scientific community.
Read the joint statement of collaboration here.
We welcome feedback on the statement here.
