## 1 Introduction
Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are subjected to both dry particle deposition and wet scavenging pathways of removal from the atmosphere [15]. Dry deposition consists of the following steps: aerodynamic transport, boundary layer transport, and interactions with the surface, as well as sedimentation as a parallel process that can occur for particles larger than a few tenths of a \(\upmu\)m [8]. The efficiency of dry deposition is influenced by the physicochemical properties of the pollutant, prevailing meteorological factors, such as temperature, wind speed, and atmospheric stability, as well as the characteristics of the underlying surface [14]. Wet scavenging can be divided into particle (ice nucleation and rimming) and gas (adsorption) scavenging processes controlled by SVOC gas-particle partitioning in the aerosol, which mainly depends on the substance molecular structure, particulate matter chemical composition, and ambient temperature [15; 16; 17]. The actual gas scavenging removal of SVOCs from the atmosphere occurs for the substances that reveal minimum interaction with PM and is due to substance dissolution in rain or cloud droplets or sorption to snowflakes or other ice hydrometeors [15; 18; 19]. Cold temperatures enhance partitioning of gas-phase substances to the snow surface, which, combined with the developed surface areas of snowflakes, makes snow an excellent scavenger of SVOCs from the atmospheric gas phase [20]. Throughout wet scavenging, SVOCs in the gas and particulate phases in the atmosphere are accumulated in the aqueous and particulate phases of precipitation [15]. It has been shown that particle scavenging generally plays a higher role than gas scavenging for hydrophobic SVOCs, such as PAHs [17; 21]. However, the process of gas scavenging should not be neglected for light-weight PAHs [11]. Analyses of snow pollution, although not as common as studies on air, soil, or water pollution, have been used for several decades to assess environmental conditions. Researchers have investigated both inorganic [22; 23; 24; 25] and organic pollutants, including PAHs [22; 26; 27]. Studies have focused on remote sites distant from anthropogenic sources [28; 29], mountainous regions [30; 31; 32; 33], as well as urban areas [10; 27; 34], covering locations from polar [29] to temperate climates [26]. The studied area has been of interest to researchers in terms of pollution assessment in various environmental elements. Most studies have concentrated on heavy metal contamination, which was assessed in soil [35; 36], landslide lakes [37] of Babia Gora National Park, and in soil and atmospheric particulate matter from Zawoja village [38]. However, few studies carried out in the investigated region have addressed PAH pollution. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [39] used Babia Gora National Park as a sample area to show PAH accumulation in forest soil depending on the location, exposure and presence of decaying wood. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [40] investigated PAH contamination in spruce and fir needles from nearby areas to assess atmospheric pollution in the mountain villages of Beskid Slaski and Beskid Zywiecki Mountains. The absence of advanced studies on PAH levels in this popular region creates the need for such analyses to evaluate air quality in a typical tourist village in the Beskidy Mountains. The aim of this study is to develop and validate new research methods based on gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) to detect and quantify PAHs in snow samples and determine their main sources in a typical Carpathian village, using Zawoja as a case study. Due to the unique properties of snow as an environmental matrix capable of accumulating atmospheric pollutants, it is essential to establish precise and reliable analytical methods for monitoring the presence and distribution of PAHs.