Data from observations made at the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO) which exists to advance understanding of climatically significant interactions between the atmosphere and ocean and to provide a regional focal point and long-term data.

The observatory is based on Calhau Island of São Vicente, Cape Verde at 16.848N, 24.871W, in the tropical Eastern North Atlantic Ocean, a region which is data poor but plays a key role in atmosphere-ocean interactions of climate-related and biogeochemical parameters including greenhouse gases. It is an open-ocean site that is representative of a region likely to be sensitive to future climate change, and is minimally influenced by local effects and intermittent continental pollution.

The dataset contains mixing ratio measurements of ethane, propane, iso-butane, acetylene and iso-pentane.