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To explore processes leading to the formation of volatile organic compounds at the sea surface and their transfer to the atmosphere, whole air, marine aerosols, and surface ocean water DOC were simultaneously sampled during June-July 2004 on the Nordic seas. 19 C(2)-C(6) non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) in the air samples are reported from nine sites, spanning a range of latitudes. Site-to-site variability in NMHC concentrations was high, which suggests variable, local sources for these compounds studied. Total DOC in surface waters sampled ranged from 0.84 mg l(-1) (Fram Strait) to 1.06 mg l(-1) (East Greenland Current), and decreased 6-8% with 24h UV-A irradiation. Pentanes and hexanes, as well as acetone and dimethylsulfide, were identified in the seawater samples using solid-phase microextraction/GC-MS. All these compounds are volatile enough that exchange with the atmosphere can be expected, and the detection of the hydrocarbons in particular is consistent with a marine source for these in the air samples. Size-fractionated aerosols from the same sampling regions were analysed by SEM-EDX and contained sea salt, marine sulfates, and carbonates. A culturable bacterium was isolated from the large (9.9-18 microm) fraction at one site, and identified by 16S rRNA PCR analysis as Micrococcus luteus, raising the possibility that marine bioaerosols could transfer marine organic carbon to the aerosol phase and thus influence formation of VOCs above the remote oceans.