(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1986-10)
Pennington, Nancy J.; Weller, Robert A.
The Frontal Air-Sea Interaction Experiment (FASINEX) was a study of the
response of the upper ocean to atmospheric forcing in the vicinity of an oceanic
front in the subtropical convergence zone southwest of Bermuda, the response of
the lower atmosphere in that vicinity to the oceanic front, and the associated
two-way interaction between ocean and atmosphere. FASINEX began in the winter
(January 1986) , concluded in the early summer (June 1986) and included an
intensive period in February and March. The experiment took place in the
vicinity of 27°N, 70°W where sea-surface-temperature fronts are climatologically
common.
Measurements were made from buoys, ships, aircraft and spacecraft. This
report summarizes the mooring deployment and recovery cruises. FASINEX Phase
One, the deployment cruise, located a frontal feature, mapped it and set an
array of surface and Profiling Current Meters moorings across the front. Phase
Three, the recovery cruise returned to the FASINEX area to retrieve the
instrumentation that had been on station for six months. Additional
measurements were made in the frontal region during these cruises. The
activities carried out and the underway data collected on these two cruises,
details of the moored array and a preliminary statement of the data return from
the array, and the data telemetered from the moored array via ARGOS are
summarized in this report.
