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Cruise Report, RV ATAIR, Cruise 0671021-1, Bremerhaven - Thyboron —- Aberdeen, 18 Jul - 10 Aug 2023 
4. Narrative of the Cruise 
RVATAIR left its berth at Kohlenkai in Bremerhaven/Germany on 18 July 2023, at 11:00 UTC 
and subsequently passed the Bremerhaven Sleuth in order to start its cruise 067/021-1, the 
North Sea Summer Survey of 2023. The scientific mission of cruise 067/021-1 started in the 
late afternoon/early evening hours of the same day, when a test station was conducted and 
sontinuous logging of underway data was switched on after having reached station 
#002/GNO03/ELBE1. Course was set towards west and initially followed the latitude of 54°N. 
On 19 July, the Dutch EEZ was entered, and subsequent work at 9 hydrographic stations 
(#005/GN007A - #013/GN013N) was carried out. At station #008/GN009, the vessel turned 
southwards in order to reach the southernmost station of the cruise near the southern entrance 
to the North Sea (station #013/GNO13N, reached on 21 July). 
The vessel entered UK waters for the first time on 21 July and carried out work on stations 
#014/GN014 to #018/GN009S on a northward course in order to reach 54°N again and finish 
measurements along this latitude. 
On 22 July, measurements started at the western end of the 55°N section at station 
#022/GN018A. UK waters were left shortly after finishing station #026/GN019S on 23 July, and 
Dutch waters were entered again. The vessel reached the eastern end of the 55°N section on 
24 July (station #033/GN025, German waters) and headed north to continue measurements 
along 56°N in western direction. The easternmost station #036/GN026 of the 56°N section was 
conducted in Danish waters on 25 July, and the westernmost station #046/GN033A located in 
British waters was sampled on 27 July. 
The 57°N section started at its western end (station #048/GN034A) on 27 July. The vessel 
headed eastward, crossed UK and Norwegian waters and reached its eastern end at station 
#062/GN039 on 30 July around noon. Between the afternoon of July 29" and the early morning 
hours of 30 July, the vessel was at anchor near station #058/GNO038B, since the overall 
weather and sea state conditions prevailing so far had permitted to arrive quite early near the 
port of Thyboren. 
RV ATAIR was towed at Oliekaj in Thyborön/Denmark on 30 July at 14:05 UTC in order to 
finish leg 1 of cruise 067/021-1. The scientific mission was interrupted until 1 August, 05:30 
UTC, when the vessel left Thyboren in order to start leg 2 of cruise 067/021-1. In between. 
crew members and scientific participants were exchanged. 
Station work was resumed on 1 August, at station #063/GN039S, with the vessel heading north 
in order to reach the eastern end of the 58°N section in Norwegian waters. Starting at station 
#065/GN040 visited in the afternoon hours of 1 August, the vessel headed westwards, initially 
following the course of the Norwegian Trench. The western end of the 58°N section located in 
British waters was reached at station #080/GN045C on 3 August, around 21:00 UTC.