The main scientific objectives of the cruises are threefold:

• to asses the large scale circulation in the Western Basin, evaluating the water masses and the fluxes at different key point in the basin (The North Current, The East and West Corsica currents, the Balearic front, Algerian Basin). The final goal was numerical modelling assessment.
• to identify and follow peculiar mesoscale structures such as surface eddies, modal weddies, submesoscale coherent vortices (SCV) meanders or filaments and explore the signature on the sea surface height (altimetry) and the acoustic impact (sound propagation).
• to observe and interpret the submesoscale dynamics such ageostrophic stirring, symmetric instabilities, mixed layer instabilities, subduction and convection.

The Protevs2015_leg1  campaign took place from the 8th to 28th of January 2015 on board of the RV Pourquoi Pas? in the north western mediterranean basin. It is focused on physical aspects (hydrology and dynamics). The main objective was the dynamics of the North current from its roots in the Ligurian Sea downstream to the Gulf of Lion. The surveys try to catch not only the meso-scale features but also the submesoscale associated to the the northern current or at least in its vicinity.