Simple procedure for ion chromatographic determination of anions and cations at trace levels in ice core samples

Several suppressed and non-suppressed ion chromatography (IC) elution syste ms were compared for the determination of ng ml(-1) levels of major cations and anions, including formate and methyl sulphonate, in ice core samples u sing a small (0.2-0.8 mi) sample volume. The use of a suppression unit cons iderably enhanced the sensitivity of the anion determinations, but had no r emarkable effect on the sensitivity of the cation determinations. Optimized analytical conditions were further validated in terms of accuracy, precisi on and total uncertainty and the results showed the reliability of the IC m ethods. In addition, contamination problems associated with handling the ic e core were investigated, and a simple and almost contamination free ice ha ndling procedure is presented. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.