EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS IN THE POLAR ATMOSPHERE AND IN THE POLAR ICE OF GREENLAND

140 ice samples were collected in Greenland during the summer of 1993. in a preliminary study, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concent rations were measured in 12 samples. Very careful work was needed in o rder to prevent any contamination. HPLC with variable wavelengths fluo rimetric detection was used to determine concentrations in the 1-1000 pg kg(-1) ice range. PAHs are good tracers of all types of combustion and the variation of their concentrations shows the evolution of pollu tion by organic matter produced by coal and fuel combustion (fluoranth ene and phenanthrene), motor vehicles (benzo ghi perylene) and forest fires (retene). The global trend shows that the contamination by coal decreases, that the contamination by fuel increases, but that the tota l amount of PAH deposited on the ice sheet in polar regions is constan t since the beginning of the industrial period.