Air-sea interactions in tropical oceans.

The role of the ocean on interannual climate changes in now well recognized. El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), affecting both the tropical oceans, mostly the Pacific and the whole tropical atmosphere is the most stricking climate signal involving the ocean. In 1982-1983, the strongest E.N.S.O. of the century has been observed in the Pacific followed one year later, in 1984, by a warm event in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic event is the consequence of the Pacific event. It is hoped that sophisticated high resolution coupled models associated with a permanent monitoring of the oceans will permit us to forecast the evolution of the climate in the range of several months to several years.