Nature of hydrocarbons in bottom sediments of the seas of the European Arctic

Abstract

The concentrations and composition of hydrocarbons (aliphatic – AHCs and polycyclic aromatic – PAHs) were determined using molecular markers in bottom sediments of the Greenland-Norwegian basin and the Barents Sea (cruise 84 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh 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 Mohn and Knipovich ridges, the Western and Northwestern extremities of the Svalbard shelf (the Vestnese Ridge, the Ermak Plateau, the Sofia Basin and the Hinlopen Trough), the Fram Strait, the Orly Trench area with the intersection of the Erik-Eriksen Trough and the central part of the Barents Sea. The distribution of HCs is determined by the processes occurring in the sedimentary strata (changes in Eh and fluid flows), and, to a lesser extent, by the lithotype of sediments. Therefore, in the thickness of sediments, autochthonous components are formed in the composition of alkanes, and naphthalenes in the composition of PAHs.