THE RECENT DEPOSITIONAL TREND OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS ANDELEMENTAL CARBON TO THE AGASSIZ ICE CAP, ELLESMERE ISLAND, CANADA

Polar ice caps can provide long-term records of atmospheric deposition . Owing to the prevalent conditions, the layers of accumulated snow ar e subject to little chemical or physical change and are temporally wel l defined. Sampling of the Agassiz Ice Cap on Ellesmere Island was und ertaken in early 1993 to investigate the potential of polar ice caps f or use in determining recent historical trends in the deposition of an thropogenic contaminants to the Arctic. Discrete annual snow and ice l ayers representing the last 30 years of accumulation were sampled from a deep pit to obtain large volume samples for the determination of po lycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and elemental carbon (EC). The f lux of PAHs to the ice cap has remained relatively constant for the pa st 20 years, with a mean value of 11 (+/- 6) mu g/m(2)/year. This equa tes to a total annual loading of PAH to the Arctic of 37 t/year for th e same period. Prior to this period, a greater flux of 74 (+/- 20) mu g/m(2)/year is observed. Mean values for EC concentration and flux wer e found to be 2.6 (+/- 2.8) mu g/l and 310 (+/- 370) mu g/m(2)/year, r espectively. However, analytical complications were encountered with t he analysis of EC, and these data should be considered as preliminary baseline values only.