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From the afternoon of May 19th to the early morning of June 2nd 2017, CAGE-WP6 at the Department of Geology Uit, the Arctic University of Norway, arranged a scientific cruise aimed at investigating sediment cores and porewater, and water masses, at the western Svalbard margin, Fram Strait, East Greenland Ridge, and Storfjorden Trough, visiting methane seep sites off Vestnesa Ridge, and in Storfjorden Trough on R/V “Helmer Hanssen”. Investigated areas were (in order of visiting sites on the cruise): Prins Karls Forland (PKF) (overlap with ‘leg 1’ 17th to 19th of May – see Leg 1 report), southern Yermak Plateau, Vestnesa Ridge, East Greenland Ridge, Storfjorden Trough and Storfjorden. The scientific sampling was done within the framework of several ongoing projects at the Department of Geology, University of Tromsø: “CAGE – Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate”-WP6: “Methane Release, Ocean Acidification and CO2”. Planned surveys north of Svalbard was abandoned due to extensive sea ice cover and the East Greenland Ridge was surveyed instead. Sea ice over outer Vestnesa prevented surveys there and Storfjorden trough was also completely covered, but the sea ice broke up towards the end of the cruise and thus could be surveyed during the very last part of the cruise. A total of 15 gravity cores (c. 60 m), and 20 CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) casts were performed along the western Svalbard margin (Vestnesa and PKF and Yermak). Data were also collected at East Greenland Ridge and in Storfjorden Trough and Storfjorden, brine overflow was detected. The CTD casts and chirp- and multibeam lines from PKF May 17-19th are reported in the cruise report for Leg 1. Chirp profiles and multibeam lines were acquired during transits and in surveys (mapping of East Greenland Ridge, moraine systems and basins in Storfjorden Trough, active and inactive pockmarks at Vestnesa Ridge and over and to find potential core sites. The cruise may be known as: CAGE17_1_leg2

From the late afternoon of July 23rd to the morning of August 3rd, 2015, the Department of Geology Uit, the Arctic University of Norway, arranged a AMGG-Research School scientific teaching cruise aimed atinvestigating the western and northern Svalbard margin and the Barents Sea, the Fram Strait to east Greenland, methane seep sites at Vestnesa, Prins Karls Forland and Storfjorden Trough and on R/V “Helmer Hanssen”. Investigated areas were (in order of visiting sites on the cruise): west of Prins Karls Forland, Vestnesa Ridge, Molloy Deep, Fram Strait, East Greenland margin, Smeerenburgfjorden, Hinlopen, Storfjorden, Storfjorden Trough, and Leirdjupet south of Spitsbergenbanken. The scientific sampling was done within the framework of several ongoing projects at the Department of Geology, University of Tromsø: “CAGE – Centre for Arctic Gashydrate, Environment and Climate”, in which the sub-projects “Paleo-CIRCUS”, “OA-Ocean Acidification” is included. The responsible for this year’s course in GEO8144/GEO3144 is Prof. T.L. Rasmussen. A total of 26 gravity cores, 5 piston cores, 12 plankton net casts and 27 CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) casts were performed at the planned stations. A total of 86.3 km (46 nm) of airgun surveys were run. 108.97 m mud was obtained in total. Chirp profiles and multibeam lines were acquired during transits and during surveys in Storfjorden, Storfjorden Trough and Leirdjupet. In addition, CTD’s and a small chirp and multibeam survey was performed Storfjorden and in Leirdjupet and airgun lines were run in Storfjorden Trough. The recording of echo-sounding started from c. 78 °N on the shelf outside Isfjorden and ended at c. 72 °N, with pauses when passing through protected areas of Svalbard (Smeerenburgfjorden and Hinlopen and respecting the 12 nm zone in Storfjorden). The cruise may be known as: CAGE15_7_AMGG