Nature of Hydrocarbons in Bottom Sediments of the European Arctic Seas.

The concentrations and composition of hydrocarbons (aliphatic, AHCs, and polycyclic aromatic, PAHs) are determined using molecular markers in bottom sediments of the Greenland–Norwegian basin and the Barents Sea (during the 84th cruise of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in 2021). The research covered the deep-sea part of the Greenland Basin, the northern part of the East Greenland Ridge, the near-fault zone in the area of the junction of the Mohns and Knipovich ridges, the Western and Northwestern extremities of the Svalbard continental shelf (the Vestnes Ridge, the Ermak Plateau, the Sofia Basin, and the Hinlopen Trough), the Fram Strait, the Orly trough area with the intersection of the Erik-Eriksen trough, and the central part of the Barents Sea. The surface bottom sediments are found to contain a wide range of concentrations of C_org (0.25%–2.71%), AHCs (7–182 μg/g), and PAHs (23–1918 ng/g). The distribution of HCs is determined by the processes occurring in the sedimentary stratum (changes in Eh and fluid flows), and, to a lesser extent, by the lithotype of sediments. Therefore, in the sedimentary stratum, autochthonous components form in the composition of alkanes and naphthalenes form in the composition of PAHs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]