Description: The expedition "Auftrieb '72" was conducted in the NW African Upwelling Region off the Banc d' Arguin and included two geological profiles off Cap Blanc and off Villa Cisneros. R.V. "Meteor" and R.V. "Planet", the research plane "Canberra" and the tourist vessel M.S. "Regina Maris" participated in the expedition. Several components added up to a coordinated programme of different disciplines: Current meter moorings, large-scale oceanography and intensive studies of frontal zones were the task of R.V. "Planet". Medium-scale oceanography, chemistry and various disciplines of marine biology were performed with R.V. "Meteor", while the airplane and M.S. "Regina Maris" supplied background oceanographic information for the whole programme. The work done with R.V. "Meteor" is reported here. lt has been organised in three sections: Cruise section I. Nutrient dynamics in upwelling water bodies, in continuation of the work done during the "Roßbreiten-Expedition 1970". Cruise section II. Circulation in an upwelling system, including direct measurements of the vertical velocity; mixing processes in an upwelling system. Cruise section III. Sediment and benthos in areas of strong and weak upwelling. The approach to the study of these processes varied according to the problem. During cruise section I a number of drift experiments similar to the experiment conducted during the "Roßbreiten-Expedition 1970" was performed, consisting of a regular station programme at a freely drifting buoy which served for marking a patch of upwelling water. Cruise section II consisted of repeated sections in the vicinity of the vertical current meters and the current meter moorings. Cruise section III concentrated on two profiles perpendicular to the coast off Cap Blanc and Villa Cisneros.