Determination of trace elements in ice core samples by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mas spectrometry

The snow and iceshields of the polar regions serve as a climate archiveand deliver a useful insight back to about 250.000 years of earth climatehistory1,2. The aim of our investigation reported here was to establisha new method for the determination of trace elements in ice cores frompolar regions with Laserablation Inductively Coupled Plasma MassSpectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)3. Primarily, the construction of a cryogeniclaserablation chamber and the optimization of the analysis system forthe sample matrix were the main goals. This paper reports preliminaryresults from measurements of frozen ice samples, the achievable signalintensities, standard deviations and calibration graphs as well as the firstsignal progression of 208Pb in an 8000 years old ice core sample fromGreenland.