A series of organic compounds in snow and ice were identified from Dasuopu glacier in Xixiabangma in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Organic compounds derived from natural organisms include n-alkanes ranging from Cto C, normal monoearboxylie acids of C—C, n-alkan-2-ones of C—Cand esters. The unstable compounds widely present in lower troposphere disppear in the middle-upper troposphere. Lots of other organic compounds from petroleum residues were also unexpectedly identified from the glacier, covering pristane, phytane, extended tricyclie terpanes of C—C, Ctetracyclic terpane, αβ hopane compounds of C—C, and cholestanes of C—C. The remote Xixiabangma region is unambiguously polluted from anthropology activities. The petroleum residues were proposed to be mainly from the Mideast and India, not from China. The organic pollutants from oil fires ignited during the well-known Gulf War which broke out in 1991 were also recorded in the glacier. S
