  We present maps of the column densities of H$_2$O, CO$_2$, and CO ices
towards the molecular cores B~35A, DC~274.2-00.4, BHR~59, and DC~300.7-01.0.
These ice maps, probing spatial distances in molecular cores as low as 2200~AU,
challenge the traditional hypothesis that the denser the region observed, the
more ice is present, providing evidence that the relationships between solid
molecular species are more varied than the generic picture we often adopt to
model gas-grain chemical processes and explain feedback between solid phase
processes and gas phase abundances. We present the first combined solid-gas
maps of a single molecular species, based upon observations of both CO ice and
gas phase C$^{18}$O towards B~35A, a star-forming dense core in Orion. We
conclude that molecular species in the solid phase are powerful tracers of
"small scale" chemical diversity, prior to the onset of star formation. With a
component analysis approach, we can probe the solid phase chemistry of a region
at a level of detail greater than that provided by statistical analyses or
generic conclusions drawn from single pointing line-of-sight observations
alone.
