were conducted in the oceanic areas of the equatorial Atlantic off the Island 

 of Barbados.^ 



One of the most difficult problems in mounting a medium scale oceano- 

 graphic experiment is the coordination of large numbers of platforms and 

 sensors required for time-synchronous measurements of fluxes, momentum, 

 and other variables. Because of the nature of its design and the large number 

 of participants, simultaneous measurements from levels below the mixed 

 layer in the oceans to 60,000 feet could be taken, thus allowing for a com- 

 prehensive characterization of the physical environment in the BOMEX 

 area. 



The principal objectives of the BOMEX program were — 



(1) Determination of the flux of energy from the ocean to the at- 

 mosphere — the sea-air interaction ; 



(2) Investigation of the dynamics and structures of the mixed layer 

 in the upper ocean ; 



(3) Exploration of large convective systems over the tropical Atlantic; 



(4) Determination of the radiation budget over the BOMEX area 

 from the ocean surface to the top of the atmosphere ; and 



(5) Provision, by use of satellites, of scientific background informa- 

 tion for BOMEX projects for comparison with actual direct measure- 

 ments from other platforms, and for communication experiments with 

 aircraft and ships for future global and ocean systems. 



The BOMEX program was divided into several data-gathering phases; 

 two methods were used. Initially, the point method measured the upward 

 and dowTiward flow of energy in both sea and air at specific points on the 

 sea surface. The second, or volume method, treated the BOMEX area as 

 a cube. In concentrated observation periods of approximately 4 days each, 

 conditions in the BOMEX area were measured by instrumented balloons, 

 by instruments dropped from aircraft, by the ships at the corners of the array, 

 and by day and night "line integral" flights around the cube's outer perim- 

 eter. These measurements will be used to calculate the net gains or losses 

 in heat, moisture, and wind energy in the volume of air overlying the 

 BOMEX square, and the amount of heat and moisture that the atmosphere 

 over the area receives from the sea. 



The fourth data-gathering period was devoted to the exploration of 

 convective systems. It is in these systems that most of the energy in the 

 atmospheric boundary layer is transported to higher levels and distributed 

 throughout the troposphere. The choice of the areas was determined from 

 cloud photographs taken by ESSA satellites and the NASA ATS-III 

 synchronous satellite. 



The volume of data taken during the full BOMEX project is prodigious. 

 Analysis and correlation of the information taken from instrumentated air- 

 craft alone amounts to 4,000 hours of continuously recorded observations 

 of a variety of weather elements. Because of the enormous amount of data 

 to be reduced and correlated it is estimated that the major data elements 



=■ Federal participation in BOMEX included AEC, BCF, ESSA, NASA, Navy, Air 

 Force, Coast Guard and Geological Survey. 



153 



