Short Cruise Report, RV ATAIR, Cruise 0671041-1, Bremerhaven - Thyboron - Aberdeen, 22 Jul — 14 Aug 2025 
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3. Narrative of Cruise 067/041-1 
RV ATAIR departed from its berth at Labradorkai in Bremerhaven, Germany, on 22 July 2025, at 
96:30 UTC, passing Bremerhaven Sleuth in order to start its cruise 067/041-1, the North Sea 
Summer Survey (NSSS) of 2025. The scientific mission of cruise 067/041-1 began that afternoon 
with a test station at the mouth of the Old Weser River. Continuous acquisition of vessel-mounted 
ADCP data commenced upon reaching station #002/GNO03/ELBE1. The course was set west- 
wards, initially following the 54°N latitude line. On 23 July, the vessel entered the Dutch EEZ and 
subsequently worked at nine hydrographic stations (#005/GN007A to #013/GN013N). At station 
#008/GNO009, the vessel turned south to reach the southernmost station of the cruise, which was 
located near the southern entrance to the North Sea (station #013/GNO13N, reached on 24 July). 
Water intrusion into the main body of the thermosalinograph (TSG) at the start of the cruise had 
damaged the electronic connectors. The system was out of action until 12:18 UTC on 24 July, 
when it was repaired and data recording could resume. 
On 24 July, the vessel entered UK waters for the first time and worked on stations #014/GN014 
to #018/GN009S, traveling north to return to 54°N to complete the measurements at this latitude. 
The first of four surface drifters, EDDY 2057, was deployed at the end of station #018/GN009S 
on 25 July. The western end of the 54°N section was reached at station #020/GN017A on 26 July. 
On the same day (26 July), measurements began at station #022/GN018A, located at the western 
end of the 55°N section. The course was then set towards the eastern end of the section. The 
second surface drifter, EDDY 2068, was deployed on station #024/GN018S on 26 July. Due to 
the presence of a large wind farm located on Dogger Bank, it was necessary to take a northward 
detour in order to reach the new station location #025/GNO019N, which was visited for the first time 
in the summer of 2024. Shortly after completing station #026/GN019S on 27 July, the vessel left 
UK waters and entered Dutch waters again. On 28 July, the vessel reached the eastern end of 
the 55°N section (station #033/GN025) off the island of Sylt. The cruise was interrupted for a time 
of about three hours in order to pick up some scientific spare parts in List Harbour on the island 
of Sylt. The cruise then resumed, and the vessel headed north to continue measurements along 
the 56°N line in a westerly direction, encountering increasing wind speeds and a rising sea state 
(Fig. 2). On 28 July, the easternmost station of the 56°N section, #036/GN026, was sampled in 
Janish waters. The third surface drifter, EDDY 2060, was deployed on station #038/GN027 on 
29 July. On 30 July, the westernmost station of the 56°N section, #046/GN033A, was sampled in 
British waters. 
On 31 July, the predicted weather conditions for the following days led to the decision to tempo- 
rarily skip the 57°N section, with the intention of resuming it at a later point in time. Thus, the 
vessel headed north and continued station work at 58°N in an easterly direction, starting with 
station #049/GN045D. On the way towards Norway, weather conditions deteriorated with wind 
speeds increasing to 7-8 Bf. The eastern end of the section was reached on 02 August at station 
#062/GNO040, which was also the deepest station of the entire cruise (524 m). From 02 to 03 
August, RV ATAIR followed 8°E south, crossing the Norwegian Trench (stations #063/GN040B 
to #065/GN039) and heading towards the port of Thyboren in Denmark.