SATELLITE OCEAN VECTOR WIND (OVW) OBSERVATIONS ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE INTERFACIAL (ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN) SURFACE STRESS. MOMENTUM TRANSFER FROM THE ATMOSPHERE TO THE OCEAN (THE SURFACE STRESS OR DRAG) IS THE PRIMARY DRIVER OF THE OCEAN CIRCULATION. CONSEQUENTLY THIS FLUX OF MOMENTUM IS OF FOREMOST IMPORTANCE IN THE REGULATION OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE. AS THE NAME IMPLIES THE SURFACE STRESS OCCURS IN A VERY THIN INTERFACIAL LAYER. HOWEVER THE DIRECT EFFECTS OF THIS SEA-SURFACE DRAG ARE FELT IN THE ATMOSPHERE OVER A MUCH DEEPER (O(1 KM) DEEP) LAYER OF GENERALLY TURBULENT FLOW THAT IS CALLED THE MARINE ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER (MABL). MABL TURBULENCE IS PRIMARILY GENERATED BY THE SURFACE FLUXES OF WHICH THE SURFACE DRAG IS OF LEADING IMPORTANCE AND ESPECIALLY IN THE TROPICS BY INTERACTIONS WITH THE FREE TROPOSPHERE AT THE TOP OF THE MABL. WHILE THE MABL IS MUCH THICKER THAN THE INTERFACIAL LAYER IT IS A RELATIVELY THIN PORTION OF THE TROPOSPHERE WHICH EXTENDS TO ABOUT 20 KM IN THE TROPICS AND MOST OF THE TROPOSPHERIC FLOW DOES NOT DIRECTLY "FEEL" THE SURFACE DRAG. THE FREE TROPOSPHERE INTERACTS WITH THE OCEAN ACROSS THE FULL MABL. OVER MANY YEARS NASA HAS SUPPORTED OUR RESEARCH INTO THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS OF A SERIES OF INCREASINGLY COMPLEX MABL MODELS THAT EXPLOIT THE HIGH-QUALITY SATELLITE OVW IN ORDER TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MABL PROCESSES THE DYNAMICS OF MID-LATITUDE STORMS AND FRONTAL ZONES THE DYNAMICS OF TROPICAL CYCLONE BOUNDARY LAYERS AND THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MID-LATITUDE FLOWS AND THE INTRA-SEASONAL MADDEN-JULIEN OSCILLATION. ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF THESE RESEARCH PRODUCTS HAS BEEN THE CONTINUAL DEVELOPMENT OF WHAT HAS COME TO BE KNOWN IN THE COMMUNITY AS THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PLANETARY BOUNDARY LAYER (UW PBL) MODEL WHICH HAS AS ONE OF ITS PRIMARY USES A UNIQUE CAPABILITY TO RETRIEVE ACCURATE SEA-LEVEL PRESSURE (SLP) FIELDS FROM SATELLITE OVW. THIS ABILITY HAS MADE THE UW PBL MODEL A VALUABLE COMMUNITY RESEARCH TOOL. IT HAS LONG BEEN FREELY AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AND WE HAVE PROVIDED SIGNIFICANT SUPPORT TO USERS WORLD-WIDE. AT ITS CORE IT IS A COMBINATION OF SEPARATE MID-LATITUDE AND TROPICAL MODELS. INTEREST IN TROPICAL CYCLONE (TC) APPLICATIONS IS VERY STRONG ESPECIALLY IN REGIONS THAT ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THESE MAJOR STORMS BUT DO NOT HAVE ROUTINE AIRCRAFT SURVEILLANCE. HOWEVER THE TC VERSION OF THE MODEL IS MUCH MORE COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT TO USE AND HAS ONLY BEEN SHARED IN A LIMITED WAY AND WITH ONE-ON-ONE COLLABORATION. THE STANDARD VERSION OF THE UW PBL MODEL IS NOT ADEQUATE FOR TC APPLICATIONS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO IMPROVE THE WAYS FOR WHICH SATELLITE OVW ARE USED IN BOTH WEATHER AND CLIMATE APPLICATIONS BY UNIFYING ADVANCING AND GENERALIZING THE UW PBL MODEL WITH A GOAL OF PROVIDING A SINGLE MODEL FOR ALL APPLICATIONS INCLUDING TROPICAL CYCLONES. THIS MODEL IN COMBINATION WITH RESEARCH BEING PERFORMED BY US AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE VALUE OF OVW OBSERVATIONS IN WEATHER AND CLIMATE RESEARCH. THE IMPROVED UW PBL MODEL WILL ALSO PERMIT US TO DEVELOP AND EMPLOY A UNIQUE METHODOLOGY THAT EXPLOITS THE VERY HIGH QUALITY OVW FOR ESTIMATING THE MOMENTUM ENTRAINMENT AT THE TOP OF THE MABL WHICH IS A LONG-STANDING UNKNOWN IN TROPICAL MABL STUDIES. THESE RESULTS WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO BIASES INTRODUCED IN CLIMATE MODELS BY MABL PARAMETERIZATIONS THAT APPARENTLY UNDER-ESTIMATE THE ENTRAINMENT OF MOMENTUM IN THE TROPICS AND IN PARTICULAR OVER THE TROPICAL ATLANTIC OCEAN. THE ERROR IN MOMENTUM ENTRAINMENT IN THIS REGION IS A LEADING CANDIDATE TO BE THE CULPRIT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WELL-KNOWN LONG-STANDING AND VEXING PROBLEM OF THE WESTERLY WIND BIAS IN CLIMATE MODELS.