The multi-pronged BOBMEX will be a national programme with more than 10 scientific and defence organisations, including the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat), taking part in it.

Two satellite -- Insat-2E and IRS-P4 (Oceansat) -- will be specifically launched for the purpose and they will synchronise their working with hundreds of equipment on board three ships. Along with this, enhanced observations at nearby coastal and island stations will be made simultaneously.

Several senior scientists from top scientific institutions will participate in the exercise which is being held in the Indian waters after two decades tounderstand the Bay of Bengal, one of the least studied seas of the world.

Aimed at deciphering the basic physics of monsoon, the expedition will try to ascertain the part played by the sea in the atmospheric-oceanographic dialogue. According to sources in the Meteorology Department, the scientists will follow the monsoon from ``the tropical convergence zone in which they are often embedded.''

The idea is to chase the monsoon from somewhere off Chennai till it reaches the Northeastern shores. The phenomenon will be studied with the help of various sophisticated equipment.

BOBMEX includes the use of several advanced instruments on board research ships. Other than this, balloons fitted with sensors will be launched into the cloud formation to have a better understanding of their chemistry. As a preliminary phase, 16 buoys equipped with state-of-the-art instruments have been moored by the Department of Ocean Development in different parts in the Bay of Bengal. Readings from these buoys are being monitoredregularly with the help of satellites.

To ensure that nothing goes wrong during the endeavour, a pilot study was conducted recently ``so as to check all the instruments in real conditions and to help in the final design and proper implementation of the programme.'' An in-camera review meeting of the study was held at the Naval Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) here the other day and all participants expressed satisfaction over the functioning of various instruments.

The previous such experiment was the MONEX-79, which was a collaborative effort, mainly between India and the erstwhile USSR. Another such research carried out in the meteorological history was the international experiment -- the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment conducted in 1993 in the Western Pacific in which about 20 countries took part.

The most salient aspect of BOBMEX is that ``it's truly an Indian attempt''. ``Thought, conceived and implemented by Indian scientists alone,'' ascientist from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, said.

Some of the other participating institutions are the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai, Indian Meteorology Department, NPOL, Kochi, Space Physics Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram, etc.

``The Cusat will be represented by a joint team from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and Physical Oceanography,'' said P V Joseph, visiting professor. We propose to study the low-level jet, an air stream that flows at about 60 to 100 kmph above the sea level at a height of 1.5 km during monsoon, he said, adding ``our effort will be to understnd how it is maintained.''

A sequel to the BOBMEX will be Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment planned next year as part of the ICRP. The scientists are hopeful that these studies will throw light on nature's secrets involved in creating the monsoon, which eventually will help them to ``analyse and predict this marvellous event.''