This is a three-year project to synthesize and analyze the air-sea interaction observations made during the IOP of TOGA COARE in order to understand the response of the upper ocean to the atmospheric events on different time scales. The important specific tasks to be achieved are the following: (1) synthesis of in-situ air-sea flux data incorporating other remotely sensed and model-generated data and the production of gridded surface flux fields of high resolution near the center of the Intensive Flux Array (IFA) and of low resolution over the IFA; (2) isolate the periods when the processes of mixing are essentially one dimensional and try to understand the detailed physics with the help of one dimensional model; and (3) utilizing the gridded data that provides temporal and spatial variation over the larger area, drive a three- dimensional ocean model to understand the detailed response physics of the upper ocean to such spatially and temporally varying surface forcing. The improved understanding of the flux parameterizations and the processes that maintain the warm pool will improve our ability to predict SST over the warm pool, and thus enhance our climate prediction capabilities.***
