Physical oceanography and microorganism composition during 5 cruises (Jan, March, May, August, Nov 2014) on and off the shelf northwest of Svalbard in 2014

Data were collected on and off the shelf northwest of Svalbard during cruises in January, March, May, August and November 2014. The sampling depths were 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200, 500, 750, and 1000 m, as well as at the depth of the Chl a maximum. The sampling concentrated on the core of the northwards drifting warm Atlantic water, which enters the Arctic Ocean north of Svalbard either south or north of the Yermark plateau. Transects were sampled across the core of the Atlantic water inflow at 79N, and additionally at 79.4N in May and August. Heavy drift ice restricted the sampling to the shelf and shelf-break in May and August 2014. During January, March, and November, the area north of Svalbard was largely ice-free, which allowed sampling off the shelf-break into the Arctic Ocean during winter.