Please see my "Editor Comment" EC1
I think you have done a great job in improving the manuscript according to the reviewers' comments. The manuscript now is a very presentation of the amazing expedition "PEACETIME" and a perfect introduction to the many manuscripts that will follow, some in this special volume and elsewhere.
However, in the present manuscript you refer to a number of these forthcoming manuscripts/papers and I propose to stall the publication of this particular manuscript until the fate of these manuscripts is clear. In other words; this manuscript will probably be the last one to be accepted for publication in this special volume. I hope you can live with that.
In the meantime, please correct the few typos that I found in your revised manuscript, and which I attach to this decision.
Best wishes and many thanks,
Jan-Berend

The current manuscript provides an introduction to the PEACETIME study with, in particular, very detailed information on background knowledge, preparations and data used during the planning and execution of the field campaign. Both reviewers, however, noted that the manuscript falls short of providing the summary and synthesis of main results that might be expect in this framework. While, this indeed would substantially add to the value of both manuscript and special issue (and I would urge the authors to consider expanding the scope of this paper or providing an additional manuscript), the current manuscript also offers important background information and a valuable overview on the conditions and relevant parameters during the cruise, as well as their spatial and temporal scales. I, therefore, support publication of the manuscript (with improvements provided in the attached annotated document).
Sincerely,
Christine Klaas