9413166 Morrison This project is a contribution to the US World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) Indian Ocean Hydrographic Program (IO WHP). The PI will provide hydrographic support and scientific leadership for the trans-Indian Ocean leg along 8 degrees South, designated as WOCE section I-1. Section I-1 is the northernmost of the zonal sections to be carried out during the IO WHP, effectively crossing the southern boundaries of both the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. From the data to be collected, the PI and collaborators will compute separate heat, salt and water-mass budgets for each of these basins. Since the Arabian Sea is a major source of salt, and the Bay of Bengal is a major source of fresh water to the world ocean, these measurements are crucial to understanding the overall thermohaline circulation, especially in conjunction with sections at comparable latitudes already completed in the other oceans. ***