Methane (CH 4 ) is a powerful greenhouse gas and atmospheric mixing ratios have been increasing since 2005. Therefore, quantification of CH 4 sources is essential for effective climate change mitigation. Here we report observations of the CH 4 mixing ratios measured at Zeppelin Observatory (Svalbard) in the Arctic and aboard the Research Vessel (RV) Helmer Hanssen over the Arctic Ocean from June 2014 to December 2016, as well as the long-term CH 4 trend measured at the Zeppelin Observatory (Svalbard) from 2001–2017. We investigated areas over the European Arctic Ocean to identify possible hot spot regions emitting CH 4 from the ocean to the atmosphere, and used state-of-the-art modelling (FLEXPART) combined with updated emissions inventories to identify CH 4 sources. Furthermore, we collected air samples in the region as well as samples of gas hydrates, obtained from the sea floor using a new technique developed as part of this work. Using this new methodology, we evaluated the suitability of ethane and isotopic signatures ( δ 13 C in CH 4 ) as tracers for ocean-to-atmosphere CH 4 emission. We show that the mean atmospheric CH4 mixing ratio in the Arctic increased by 5.9 ± 0.38 parts per billion by volume (ppb) per year (yr −1 ) from 2001–2017. Meanwhile most large excursions from the baseline CH 4 mixing ratio over the European Arctic Ocean are due to long-range transport from land-based sources, lending confidence to the present inventories for high latitude CH 4 emissions. However, we also identify a potential hot spot region with ocean-atmosphere CH 4 flux North of Svalbard (80.4° N, 12.8° E) of up to 26 nmol m −2 s −1 from a large mixing ratio increase at the location of 30 ppb. Since this flux is highly consistent with previous constraints (both spatially and temporally), there is no evidence that the area of interest North of Svalbard is unique in the context of the wider Arctic. Rather, that the meteorology at the time of the observation was unique in the context of the measurement time series, i.e. we obtained, over the short course of the episode, measurements highly sensitive to emissions over an active seep site, without sensitivity to land based emissions.