The Eurasian Arctic Ocean along the MOSAiC drift (2019-2020): An interdisciplinary perspective on properties and processes

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of the Arctic Climate (MOSAiC, 2019/2020), a year-long drift with the Arctic sea ice, has provided the scientific community with an unprecedented, multidisciplinary dataset from the Eurasian Arctic Ocean, covering high atmosphere to deep ocean across all seasons. However, the heterogeneity of data and the superposition of spatial and temporal variability, intrinsic to a drift campaign, complicate the interpretation of observations. In this study, we compile a quality-controlled hydrographic dataset with best spatio-temporal coverage and derive core parameters, including the mixed layer depth, heat fluxes over key layers, and friction velocity. We provide a comprehensive and accessible overview of the ocean conditions encountered along the MOSAiC drift, discuss their interdisciplinary implications, and compare common ocean climatologies to these new data. Our results indicate that - for the most parts - ocean variability was dominated by regional, rather than seasonal signals, with potentially strong implications for ocean biogeochemistry, ecology, sea ice, and even atmospheric conditions. Near-surface ocean properties are strongly influenced by the relative position of sampling within or outside the river-water influenced Transpolar Drift, and seasonal warming and meltwater input. Ventilation down to the Atlantic Water layer in the Nansen Basin allows for a stronger connectivity to both sea ice and surface ocean, including elevated upward heat fluxes. The Yermak Plateau and Fram Strait region are characterized by variable conditions, strong ocean currents, a stronger influence of Atlantic Water, and substantial lateral gradients in surface water properties in frontal regions. Together with the presented results and core parameters, we offer context for interdisciplinary research, fostering an improved understanding of the complex, coupled Arctic System.