winters, the northern Adriatic Sea experiences frequent, intense cold-air out-breaks that drive oceanic heat loss and imprint complex but predictable patterns in the underlying waters. This strong, reli-able forcing makes this region an excellent laboratory for observational and numerical investigations of air-sea interaction, sediment and biological transport, and mesoscale wind-driven fl ow. Narrow sea surface wind jets, commonly known as "bora, " occur when cold, dry air spills through gaps in the Dinaric Alps (the moun-tain range situated along the Adriatic's eastern shore). Horizontal variations in these winds drive a mosaic of oceanic cyclonic and anticy-clonic cells that draw coastal waters far into the middle basin. The winds also drive intense cooling and overturning, producing a sharp front between dense, vertically homogenous waters (North Adriatic Dense Water, or NAdDW) in the north and the lighter (colder, fresher), stratifi ed waters of the Po River plume. Once subducted at the front, the NAdDW fl ows south-ward in a narrow vein following the isobaths (contours of constant depth) of the Italian coast. In addition to governing the basin's gen-eral circulation, these processes also infl uence sediment transport and modulate biological and optical variability. Building on a long history of scientific investigations [Cushman-Roisin et al., 2001], scientists from several countries conducted intensive multi-disciplinary studies of the northern and central Adriatic during 2002 and 2003. The U.S. Office of Naval Research, NATO, the Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Universities and Research supported large observational and numerical modeling programs. The Dynamics of Localized Currents and Eddy Variability in the Adriatic (DOL-CEVITA) program investigated the meso-scale and sub-mesocale response to strong atmospheric and riverine forcing within the context of large-scale circulation studies conducted by the Adriatic Circulation, West Istria, and East Adriatic Coastal Experi-ments (ACE, WISE, EACE). European Margin Strata Formation (EUROSTRATAFORM) investigators worked to understand how sediment transport processes produce ob-served deposition patterns off the Po and Apennine river systems. The Mucilage Adriatico-Tirreno (MAT) project conducted monthly physical and bio-logical measurements along three northern Adriatic sections, while other studies focused on bottom-layer hypoxia. The Adriatic Sea Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Man-agement System (ADRICOSM) pilot project employed measurements and extensive mod-eling to establish a near-real-time forecast sys-tem. High-resolution ocean and atmosphere simulations conducted by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory supported many of the projects. The combination of these large, multi-in-vestigator programs and numerous smaller efforts provide a unique, multi-faceted view of the northern Adriatic. Measurements included half-year moored time series at several locations, extensive surface drifter deployments, coastal high-frequency radars, regular hydrographic surveys, high-resolution towed profi ler surveys during bora events, microstructure profi les, remote sensing (advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR), ocean color, and synthetic aperture radar) and meteorological sampling con-ducted from midbasin gas drilling platforms, moorings, and shore stations (Figure 1a). Most signifi cant, this observational activity documented, with an unprecedented level of detail, the response of the northern Adriatic to a bora event. Many of the projects inten-tionally focused on the response to bora, and the suite of measurements and numerical simulations provides physical, meteorological, biological, optical, and sediment transport perspectives.