Measurements of Shear and Turbulence during the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) Mixed Layer Dynamics Pilot Program

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In this project, the P.I.'s will obtain time series of shear and turbulence in the area of the warm pool in the western tropical Pacific Ocean, where the oceanic mixed layer regime differs greatly from other regimes, such as that in the central Pacific observed during Tropic Heat. Local rainfall and island runoff freshen the near-surface layer, creating a non-thermal buoyancy layer that effectively attenuates wind-mixing of the thermal layer except under very strong or sustained winds. Understanding mixing in this area is of fundamental importance to sorting out the hypotheses for generation of El Nino in particular, and for tropical ocean modeling in general. Ocean measurements will be combined with improved measurements of air-sea fluxes made under a companion grant.