The article was published in the journal "Oceanology". 2014, vol. 54, no. 2, s. 178-188. The spatial distribution of methane in the water and bottom sediments of the estuarine region of the Northern Dvina in the subglacial and summer periods is generally similar, and is characterized by an increase in gas content in the direction from the top of the mouth region to the delta, with maximum values at sites, Subject to Permanent Human Exposure. The difference is a higher level of its content in the bottom sediments in the winter season, while in the water, the excess of its winter concentrations over the summer is noted only at stations located in the zone of influence of sources of anthropogenic pollution. As in summer, the dominant role in the formation of methane levels in the water of the estuarine region belongs to the bottom sediments .. The direct relationship between the total hydrogen sulfide and methane content in the surface layer of the river sediments is likely due to the parallel and non-competitive flow of the processes of generation of these gases, controlled by non-inhibiting bacterial consortia.