Meteorological and oceanographic observations were made from R/V Kexue #1 in the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) for three cruise periods over the 4 month intensive observation period from November 1, 1992, to February 28, 1993. Measurements of mean atmospheric variables were made with the Integrated Sounding System with ancillary measurements of longwave radiation and near surface sea temperature. The TOGA COARE bulk formulas were used to estimate sensible and latent heat fluxes. The temperature and salinity structure to 300 m was measured with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) and horizontal currents to 130 m with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The daily mean heat budget was obtained from the CTD data, surface fluxes, and assumptions about solar radiative absorption with depth and turbulent mixing across the bottom of the layer. Horizontal advection was estimated as the residual of the budget. The results show variability typical of the tropics: low winds (LW) with maximum solar radiation input and increasing sea surface temperature (SST); the westerly wind burst (WWB) with large latent heat flux and decreasing SST; and moderate winds with intermittent squalls (MW). Within the estimated errors of the surface heating, the upper ocean heat budget is in local balance without advection for the LW period. For the WWB and MW periods, horizontal advection is important and large for the WWB and is confirmed by currents measured by the ADCP. The horizontal advection is more important in the heat balance in the deeper layer than that in the mixed layer. The column budget analysis of heat and fresh water indicates that cold, fresh water advected into the station occupied by R/V Kexue #1 during the WWB period. ¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union