The Joint Air-Sea Monsoon Investigation (JASMINE) is based on the hypothesis
that intraseasonal variability of the Asian-Australasian monsoon system is
the result of coupled ocean-atmosphere interaction in a region of very large
cross-equatorial surface pressure gradient. JASMINE is presently planned
in two phases: a pilot study in 1999 and a main experiment in 2000. The overall
aim of these process studies in the North Indian Ocean is to determine the
dynamic and thermodynamic structure of the active and break periods of the
monsoon (i.e., the intraseasonal variability) and link them to variations
in sea surface temperature and coupled ocean-atmospheric interactions. The
maximum amplitude of the variation in monsoon precipitation occurs at approximately
90-E and 13-N. This process study is in direct support of the major scientific
objectives of the
Global-Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System (GOALS) Program. GOALS seeks to increase
the prediction of elements of the monsoon circulation. Thus, the processes
that produce the intraseasonal variations of the Asian-Australasian monsoon
are central scientific issues for GOALS. Details are provided in the document
"Intraseasonal Variability of the South Asian Monsoon System: The Concept of
JASMINE" by P. J. Webster and Collaborators
