The importance of deep convection in the tropics to the global circulation has been recognized for some time. In 1986 a pilot experiment termed the Equatorial Mesoscale Experiment (EMEX) was held off the northern coast of Australia to obtain measurements of the characteristics of deep convection in that part of the world and the effect of that convection on the larger scale environment. The Principal Investigator will produce quantitative descriptions of the wind, thermal and moisture profiles within and in the immediate environment of equatorial cloud clusters. Similarities and differences of the results from earlier field experiments will be noted and, if appropriate, new conceptual models developed. A major goal will be to investigate the effects on the large scales of motion of the vertical profile of latent heating and sea-air exchanges.
