A measurement programme taking place from August 1987 to June 1988 that focused on the interactions of atmospheric forcing, mixed layer dynamics and inertial motions, with the aim of improving understanding of upper ocean response to atmospheric forcing. The experiment took place in the autumn in the northeast Pacific, and was concentrated just south of the normal storm track since historical data suggested that it would be a place of rapid mixed layer deepening and strong, storm–forced inertial currents. It was also an area where a low level of mesoscale eddy energy minimised advection and the interaction of eddies and inertial currents.