This joint feature issue in Applied Optics and JOSA A collects articles focused on the topic of propagation through and characterization of atmospheric oceanic phenomena. The papers cover a broad range of topics, many of which were addressed at the 2023 Propagation Through and Characterization of Atmospheric Oceanic Phenomena (pcAOP) Topical Meeting at the Optica Imaging Congress in Boston, Massachusetts, 14-17 August 2023. These papers are supplemented by numerous examples of the current state of research in the field. This is the first pcAOP feature issue, with the intention to produce an issue on this topic every two years. (c) 2024 Optica Publishing Group. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), Artificial Intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved.