1）Multi-scale tropical ocean-atmosphere interactions: Observing, analyzing, diagnosing and forecasting multi-scale tropical ocean-atmosphere variations, including high-impact events such as tropical cyclone, intraseasonal variability, El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

2）Data assimilation and predictability: Data assimilation technique, parameter evaluation in oceanic and coupled GCM, initialization scheme for forecast models, and predictability of ocean environment and short-term climate variability.

3）Western boundary current in North Pacific: Variability of the Kuroshio current and Ryukyu Current , and their impacts on the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea.