The cruise addressed objectives of the work package ‘Physical drivers’ (Research Foci 1), focusing on ocean mixing and water transformation process studies in the region west and north of Svalbard, with particular focus on the warm Atlantic boundary current.

Work was conducted along four main sections across the path of the warm West Spitsbergen Current west and north of Spitsbergen. A fifth section was interrupted by the ice edge extending to shelf at 24E. Depth-profiles on ocean stratification, currents, and microstructure measurements were collected at stations along the sections from shelf to deep water, as well as at two repeated stations, each for approximately 24 hours duration. The cruise was completed with a section into Isfjorden. In total 120 CTD (conductivity temperature depth), 106 LADCP (lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler), 200 microstructure profiles and 11.5 days of shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler data were collected.