For the purpose of understanding the role of the warm water pool to El Nino and Asian Monsoon, which affect the social and economical activities in the East Asian countries including Japan, we will conduct the observational studies on the oceanic and atmospheric variability. The major theme is to clarify the heat, freshwater and momentum balances in the surface mixed layer in the warm water pool in the western Pacific Ocean as well as the eastern Indian Ocean. The data also is utilized to reveal the interaction between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean through exchange of heat and fresh water by the Indonesian Throughflow.

The principle purpose of the cruise is to obtain the physical parameters on the ocean and the atmosphere. On the former half of the cruise, the major works are to recover and to deploy surface moored TRITON buoys and subsurface moored ADCP buoys. The three TRITON buoys will be recovered and deployed along 130E, and four along 137E (or 138E). The two buoys will be recovered and deployed also in the eastern Indian Ocean. CTD measurements to 1000 m depth will be carried out at and around the buoy deployment area with water sampling by twelve 12-litter bottles.