Seasonal and annual variation of pollen content in the snow of a Canadian high Arctic ice cap

Seasonal and annual pollen deposition over an eight-year period (1981-89) in the snow layers of the Agassiz Ice Cap, Ellesmere Island, was investigated. The annual and seasonal layers were determined from the snow stratigraphy. Thirteen to thirty-five kg were sampled for each layer. Most of the pollen grains deposited on the ice cap originate either from the high Arctic regional tundra, or from the boreal forest and low Arctic tundra over 1,000 km to the south. The regional pollen types show large variations throughout the year and the maximum concentration is normally found in the late summer-early autumn snow. The exotic types usually show less seasonal variation, although with slight maximum in the spring or summer layers. The annual regional and exotic pollen influx to the ice cap can be highly variable. These variations are tentatively related to climatic parameters.