Lagerloef OCE-9623168 Oceanographic data from hydrographic and upper ocean surveys collected within the TOGA COARE (Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment) domain will be combined with satellite data and simple models to study the role upper ocean processes play in modulating air-sea fluxes in the western tropical Pacific. Of particular interest is the contribution of mesoscale and small-scale thermohaline features the vertical fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum in the upper ocean. Heat and salinity budgets including estimation of local and remote three-dimensional circulation influences on vertical mixing will be computed. The ultimate goal is to improve air-sea coupling parametrization in three-dimensional coupled climate models.
