The pollen content of snow, deposited at the summit of three ice caps and a small glacier in the Canadian Arctic and at one ice cap in the Russian Arctic, was determined for periods ranging from one to 13 years. On the ice caps, boreal forest trees and low arctic shrubs account, on average, for 26% to 49% of the total pollen. On the small glacier, the assemblages are characterized by about 90% tundra pollen types. Sphagnum, which is rare in the region, is sometimes one of the major components of the assemblages at these sites. The concentration of the various pollen types varies in the annual snow pack. The concentration of tundra pollen usually increases in the summer melt layer, but on some ice caps the highest concentrations are found in snow deposited after the melt season. Concentrations of tree/shrub pollen increase substantially in the late winter/spring snow layer and/or in the summer melt layer. The number of tree/shrub pollen reaching the ice caps varies considerably from year to year, and this variability increases with decreasing distance to treeline.