TOGA COARE

TOGA COARE
Name	TOGA COARE
Acronym	TOGA COARE
Full name	Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment
Start date	1992
End date	1993
Organizers	World Meteorological Organization, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Regions	Western Pacific Ocean, Equatorial Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea
Participants	United States, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Germany
Funding	National Science Foundation, NASA, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Japan Meteorological Agency

TOGA COARE was a large, multinational field experiment focused on understanding tropical convection and coupled ocean-atmosphere processes in the western Pacific warm pool. The project brought together scientists, institutions, and operational agencies to observe interactions among atmospheric convection, sea surface temperature, ocean mixed layer dynamics, and large-scale circulations. It served as a testbed for improving numerical models used by agencies such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and NOAA operational centers.

Background and Objectives

TOGA COARE grew from earlier international efforts including Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere and drew on precedents like GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment, Monsoon Experiment, and GATE. Principal objectives were to quantify convective heating profiles, measure air-sea fluxes, and elucidate coupled variability linked to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Madden–Julian Oscillation, and Walker circulation. Collaborating institutions included Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Meteorological Research Institute (Japan), and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, with coordination by bodies such as Joint WCRP/IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology and support from agencies like European Space Agency and Canadian Meteorological Centre.

Field Campaign and Operations

The intensive observing period concentrated in late 1992–early 1993 across a domain bounded by Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, and the Coral Sea, using platforms from RV Southern Surveyor, RV Franklin, RV Knorr, and RV Baruna Jaya I to aircraft including NOAA P-3, NASA ER-2, C-130 Hercules, and research aircraft from Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre. Operations integrated surface moorings such as the TAO array and Fisheries and Oceans Canada buoys, plus autonomous platforms like drifters and ARGO precursors. Satellite missions providing coverage included Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, ERS-1, NOAA GOES, and GMS. Field teams coordinated with national services including Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Indonesia Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency, and Papua New Guinea National Weather Service.

Instrumentation and Data Products

Measurements combined radiosondes, dropsondes, Doppler radar, wind profilers, and surface flux systems from institutions such as University of Miami, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Naval Research Laboratory, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Oceanographic sampling used CTD casts, ADCP, thermistor chains, and microstructure profilers from teams like WHOI, CSIRO, and JAMSTEC. Data products assembled by centers including NOAA/NCDC, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and International Pacific Research Center encompassed surface flux datasets, sounding arrays, shipboard microphysics, and gridded reanalysis-compatible products for assimilation by operational centers like ECMWF and UK Met Office. Ancillary datasets drew on Global Telecommunications System reporting, International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project, and historical records from Paleoclimate initiatives.

Key Scientific Findings

Analyses revealed the central role of mesoscale convective systems and convective aggregate organization in modifying sea surface temperature and surface fluxes, linking to theory from Rayleigh–Bénard convection and observational frameworks used in GATE. Results clarified interactions between the Madden–Julian Oscillation and intraseasonal variability, and constrained physically based parameterizations of deep convection used in models by ECMWF, NOAA GFS, and research versions at NCAR. Studies quantified boundary layer processes including equatorial upwelling, entrainment, and mixed-layer heat budget, informing work by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, and University of Reading. Findings impacted understanding of El Niño–Southern Oscillation initiation and feedbacks, resonating with research from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.

Impact on Climate and Weather Research

TOGA COARE precipitated improvements in convective parameterizations and coupled model development at centers such as ECMWF, NCAR, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and Japanese Meteorological Agency. The experiment’s datasets fed into reanalysis projects like ERA-Interim and later ERA5, enhancing representation of tropical variability in products used by World Climate Research Programme and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Operational forecasting for phenomena including tropical cyclone genesis and intraseasonal prediction benefited via collaborations with Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Met Office. The campaign also spurred advances in satellite remote sensing methods developed at NASA Goddard, JAXA, and EUMETSAT.

Legacy and Subsequent Projects

The legacy includes follow-on field programs and sustained observing efforts such as TOGA, CLIVAR, SPICE, TAO/TRITON, DYNAMO, YOTC, MEASUREMENTS OF AIR-SEA INTERACTION, and contributions to Argo and Global Ocean Observing System. TOGA COARE fostered long-term collaborations among institutions like WMO, NOAA, CSIRO, JAMSTEC, and Universities of Hawaii and Miami and influenced curricula at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Cambridge. The campaign’s open data philosophy anticipated modern initiatives including Copernicus Programme and large-scale synthesis efforts by International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and Future Earth.

Category:Field experiments Category:Atmospheric science Category:Oceanography