Air‐sea interaction and dynamics of the surface mixed layer

Since the last U.S. Report on ocean‐atmosphere interactions by Wyrtki [1975], there has been significant progress in air‐sea interaction research in general. The title of this report reflects the particular interest in the dynamics of the upper‐ocean turbulent boundary layer or mixed layer. More recently, larger‐scale experiments have investigated the upper‐ocean and lower‐atmosphere interactive processes on a variety of space and time scales. The most notable cooperative ventures that have involved U.S. scientists in the past four years are the Air Mass Transformation Experiment [AMTEX, 1975], the continuing Joint Air‐Sea Interaction (JASIN) experiment [Pollard, 1975, 1978], the North Pacific Experiment (NORPAX), the Mixed Layer Experiment (MILE, 1977) and MONEX, the Monsoon Experiment ([Garp, 1976]; [Singh, 1978]).