INPUT OF HYDROCARBONS INTO THE NORTH-SEA BY THE RIVER ELBE

Regular measurements have been performed for over 2 1/2 years at a fix ed station at the freshwater edge of the river Elbe to determine the c omposition and concentration of hydrocarbons in its water. The aim has been to obtain an approximation of the hydrocarbon input by the Elbe into the North Sea. The water extracts have been investigated by UV-VI S fluorescence spectroscopy, gas-chromatography and gas chromatography -mass spectrometry (GC-MS), The composition of the hydrocarbons indica tes that some of them originate from natural sources (plant waxes: n-a lkanes with a predominance of odd chain length); some originate from p etroleum sources (unresolved complex mixture) and some originate from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (unsubstituted PAHs).