Microzooplankton abundance, biomass and vertical distribution in the Barents Sea and the Svalbard coastal waters in May 2010, August-September 2010, and June 2011

Microzooplankton abundance and biomass and vertical distribution in the western and central Barents Sea and the Svalbard coastal waters were determined in seawater samples collected during the ATP cruise aboard the R/V Jan Mayen in May 2010, the Barents Sea Ecosystem cruise aboard the R/V G.O. Sars in August-September 2010, and the CONFLUX cruise aboard the R/V Helmer Hanssen cruise in June 2011. These expeditions, organized by the University of Tromsø (Norway) and the Institute of Marine Research (Bergen, Norway) crossed the Polar Front (74-76°N) from the Atlantic water in the south to Arctic water in the north. The ATP and CONFLUX cruises also included the marginal ice zone and seasonal sea ice floes between Hopen Island and Kong Karls Land. In addition, samples were conducted in Isfjorden, Spitsbergen, and the eastern slope of the Greenland Sea in May 2010.