The impurity content in meteoric ice from polar regions is relatively low compared to other natural materials. However, it controls a variety of physical properties of ice - from dielectric response to its mechanical behaviour. Links between impurity concentration, changes in ice micro-structure and deformation rate have been reported on several scales. In order to approach the responsible mechanisms, a better understanding is needed regarding the in-situ form, location, and distribution of the different species within the polycrystal. We used an optical microscope to generate high-resolution 2D-maps of micro-inclusions in deep ice from the EDML ice core (Antarctica). Superposition of the grain boundary network and micro-inclusion distributions shows no significant correlations between grain boundaries and micro-inclusions. Implications for the relevance of Zener pinning during grain boundary migration and redistribution of impurities by grain boundary drag are discussed. Raman spectra of micro-inclusions in selected regions were obtained using a confocal cryo-Raman system. Comparison with ion chromatography shows that most of the available ions in ice precipitate in form of micro-inclusions. However, indications were found that some of the residual components could coexist in form of solid solution
