[meteorite-list] Re: hunting

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:42 2004
Message-ID: <AF564D2B9D91D411B9FE00508BF1C8692C603F_at_US-Torrance.mail.saic.com>

Hi Kelly and list,

Getting caught up on some posts from earlier in the week.
In one, you wrote:

> As for desert damage to meteorites, I have this little 30 gram Dhofar 020
> from Oman that's a flattened shape. One face is eroded, chewed, crusted
with
> caliche and god knows what else, but flip it over and the rest of the
stone is
> perfect, good as new crust. Partial burial evidently protected it, at
least
> that's how I read it.

That would be my interpretation. Burial (in the right kind
of soil) will definitely extend the terrestrial lifetime of
a meteorite. Just look at Gold Basin -- they're in surprisingly
good shape despite their 20,000+ year earth age.

> McSween's book (Meteorites and their Parent Planets) has a photo of a 1993
> find in the Jiddat al Harasis plain in Oman which is a limestone white
pebble
> desert. The chondrite is this big black pyramidal stone which sticks out
like a
> sore thumb. I mean, it does everything except get up and wave to be
noticed.
> Yet, within 20 meters, were the recent tracks of nine different motor
vehicles,
> none of whom had noticed the oddity of a big black stone alone in a snow
white
> desert. McSween says "it testifies to the low probability of meteorite
discovery
> by individuals not specifically looking for them."

Absolutely. Most of the meteorites I have found not only
had tire tracks nearby (less than 20 feet away), but in
some cases were *straddling* the meteorite! People are
driving right over these things (and some of my broken
finds show evidence of just that).

Best,
Rob
Received on Thu 22 Mar 2001 03:57:41 PM PST