## 1 Introduction  
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of toxic organic compounds known for their mutagenic, teratogenic, and cancerogenic impact on human health [1, 2]. PAHs can be generated from incomplete organic matter combustion of substances, like coal, wood, crude oil, natural gas, or waste. Although PAHs can be derived from natural processes, such as volcanic activity, forest fires, and organic matter diagenesis, anthropogenic sources are predominant [3, 4]. Most PAH pollution is generated by fossil fuels and wood combustion in energy plants and for residential heating, industrial processes, such as coal cooking and petroleum refining, waste combustion, and motor vehicle emissions [2, 5]. PAHs are built of carbon and hydrogen atoms arranged in two or more fused aromatic rings. PAHs' chemical polycyclic structures make them difficult to break down, and because of their resistant and hazardous nature, they are considered to be persistent organic pollutants (POPs) [2] and listed as priority pollutants by The European and Community and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [1]. There are 16 PAHs that have been designated High Priority Pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and should be analyzed in the environment [6] (Figure 1). Most of the Carpathian resort villages, despite being surrounded by green areas and forests, are affected by different human activities, such as tourism, road transport, local industry, and household heating, during the winter season. These factors can contribute to local PAH concentration increases. In the winter, when large areas of the village are covered by snow, PAHs and other pollutants are deposited on the snow surface. As the snow melts, these contaminants are transported into water and soil system, which causes the risk of contamination of surface and groundwater as well as soil and affects living organisms. Monitoring the PAH concentration in snow can therefore deliver valuable information on seasonal and spatial changes in PAH deposition and potential risks to the natural environment and human health. The investigation of PAH concentration levels in snow helps to assess the risk of human and environmental exposure to these toxic compounds during winter, when atmospheric conditions and low temperatures may facilitate accumulation of PAHs in the local environment. Moreover, snow acts as a natural filter, capturing PAHs from the air and serving as an indicator of local air quality combustion-related emissions. Monitoring PAH concentrations might be useful for spatial management planning as this information can support decision-making processes, pollution control strategies, and emissions urban development planning to minimize negative environmental impact. Pollutants, including PAHs, once released into the atmosphere, are transported by air masses and eventually deposited on the surface of soil, vegetation, or into water bodies, such as lakes and rivers. Wind-driven transport and turbulent mixing are key processes in the dispersion of these pollutants throughout the atmosphere [7]. Three types of atmospheric transport onto the surface can be distinguished: wet, dry, and fog (cloud) deposition [8]. Snow scavenging constitutes a significant atmospheric removal mechanism  
Figure 1: Structure formulas of the 16 priority PAHs according to the US EPA. that governs the atmospheric residence time of pollutants and their subsequent deposition into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. PAH concentrations in freshly fallen snow can serve as a proxy for assessing atmospheric pollution levels and evaluating the efficiency of snow-mediated scavenging processes for PAHs [9; 10]. Studies have demonstrated that snow scavenging exhibits greater efficiency than rain scavenging in removing particulate-bound pollutants from the atmosphere [11; 12; 13]. Similarly, snow surfaces can serve as a filter for direct measurements of dry deposition [14].