This study focused on the warm pool-cold tongue confluence region (WCCR) in the central tropical Pacific Ocean where the warm and fresh water from the warm pool encounters with cold and saline water from the cold tongue. The WCCR is characterized by strong surface salinity front, shallow mixed layer and thick barrier layer. The WCCR is the key area for the development of different types of El Ni?o, and also the area with significant systematic bias in climate models. In order to reveal what role the structure and variability of salinity will play in the ocean dynamic and thermal conditions, and the cycle of the ENSO, a key project was approved by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in July, 2017. The key scientific issues that will be addressed in the project are as follows: ①to depict the three-dimensional structure and variability of salinity in the WCCR; ②to reveal the mechanism for the variability of salinity front and barrier layer; and ③to illustrate the main processes that control the impact of salinity on the upper-ocean variation in the tropical Pacific and the cycle of the ENSO. The present study will improve our understanding of the tropical ocean dynamics and ENSO dynamics, and will enhance the prediction skill of the ENSO.