Light hydrocarbons in the Norwegian Arctic

Abstract

From late February to mid April 1985 pressurized air samples were collected 3 times per week on weathership M in the North Atlantic and in Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard. The samples were analyzed for individual light hydrocarbons C₂-C₆, and it was found that the average sum of C₂-C₆ hydrocarbons was about 35 ppbC in Ny-Ålesund and 31 ppbC on ship M, with the least reactive species ethane and propane as the most abundant ones.