The field experiment ARKTIS 1993 was the third one in a series of experiments in the Arctic region performed by a group of climate researchers from Hamburg. The campaign took place in the Greenland Sea west of Spitsbergen from 1 to 25 March 1993. The preceding experiments were ARKTIS 1988 (5 - 25 May 1988) in the same geographic region and ARKTIS 1991 (20 February - 13 March 1991) located between North Norway and Bear Island. The main objective of ARKTIS 1993 was the investigation of cold air outbreaks from the Arctic sea ice onto the open water, in this case the West Spitsbergen current. To get a concise picture of all stages of boundary layer modification in cold air outbreaks a wide variety of measurement platforms was employed. Three reseach vessels (Polarstern, Valdivia, Prof. Multanovsky) operated in the experimental area providing surface observations and radiosonde data. Aerological data was also collected at three land stations (Bear Island, Danmarkshavn, Ny Alesund) which intensified their operational radiosonde program. Most essential measurement were taken by the research aircraft Falcon and DO-128 which took profiles and cross sections within the air flow. Eleven flight missions were performed.