GLACIOCHEMICAL STUDIES (THE ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION RECORDED IN SNOW AND ICE CORES) ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT MEAN OF RECONSTRUCTING OUR PAST ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT ON A REGIONAL (ALPINE GLACIERS) OR EVEN GLOBAL (POLAR ICE CAPS) SCALE. A 100 DEEP GLACIOLOGICAL DRILL IS PROPOSED AT HIGH ALTITUDE IN THE FRENCH ALPS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A CONTINUOUS RECORD OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PAST PRECIPITATION OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS.

A PLATEAU LOCATED AT THE COL DU DOME SOME 600 M UNDER THE TOP OF THE MT BLANC HAS BEEN CHOSEN. THREE ICE CORES WILL BE CUT AND PROCESSED USING CONTAMINATION FREE TECHNIQUES. MAJOR TRACE IONS (H, SO4, NO3, CL, F, NH4+, NA+, ...) AND ORGANIC ACIDS WILL BE MEASURED BY ION CHROMATOGRAPHY (EXCEPT ACIDITY WHICH WILL BE TITRATED). CONTINUOUS DEPTH PROFILES OF THE CONCENTRATIONS OF ALL THESE ELEMENTS OR COMPOUNDS WILL BE OBTAINED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE EUROPEAN INDUSTRIALISATION UP TO NOW. IT IS ASSUMED THAT BOTH NATURAL AND MANINDUCED FLUCTUATIONS WILL BE FOUND BY EXAMINING THESE PROFILES. MOREOVER, IT WILL BE ATTEMPTED TO USE STABLE S ISOTOPE MEASUREMENTS FOR DETERMINING THE DIFFERENT SOURCES OF ATMOSPHERIC S-POLLUTANTS IN EUROPE. A GERMAN-FRENCH COOPERATION IS PROPOSED TO ACHIEVE THE ANALYTICAL WORK.