Introduction to special section: Results of the Meteor 55: Tropical SOLAS Expedition

Abstract

This special section presents results from an interdisciplinary research cruise to the northern tropical Atlantic Ocean, which took place in October-November 2002. The cruise was planned as a pilot study for the international Surface Ocean - Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) project. This introduction summarizes the goals as well as the hydrographic and atmospheric setting of the expedition. We also present a brief review of the findings published in this section and elsewhere concerning controls on trace gas fluxes and the biogeochemical significance of dust composition and deposition. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.