[meteorite-list] Hot -n- cold huntin'

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:25:40 2004
Message-ID: <AF564D2B9D91D411B9FE00508BF1C86901B4E9E0_at_US-Torrance.mail.saic.com>

Hi Frank,

> Actually, in my opinion, I think the levels of commitment and doggedness
> whether hunting "cold" and hunting known "strewnfields" are pretty much
> the same. Why would your level of commitment change?

Trust me, they are two completely different animals. Psychology plays
a huge part in meteorite hunting, and the mindset and techniques for
hunting a strewnfield differ quite a bit from cold hunting. Level of
commitment is tied directly to success, and the rates of success are
very different between the two types of hunting.

> ... and why would you expect your level of doggedness to change?

Because of the mean time between finds.

> Rob, would you put in any less effort looking for meteorites at
> Holbrook than looking on Silver Dry Lake?

For me, the level of effort per hour is the same -- it's the number
of hours that's different. (I've only been to Holbrook once, and
I spent less than two hours there, yet I still made a find, partly
because I knew exactly what I was looking for.)

> In a known strewnfield, Rob previously stated that one has an
> expectation of finding a meteorite because others have previously
> been found. True. But that doesn't necessarily make it any easier
> to find a meteorite.

I tell people who have never found a meteorite, if they want to
find one, simply go where others have been found. Your odds will
be greatly enhanced over hunting randomly on favorable surfaces.
I don't have a lot of examples to back this up, but my experience
is that it takes at least 4 times as long to make a new find on a
good, previously unsearched surface, than it does to make a find
in a known strewnfield.

> Wouldn't the same would hold true searching a new dry lake bed?
> Wouldn't Rob have an expectation of finding a meteorite on an
> unsearched dry lake because he's found others in the same type
> environment?

If there was still such a thing as an "unsearched dry lake", I'd
be inclined to agree with you! ;-) No such thing in California
or Nevada any longer, not that that matters.

> Using the above logic, you could make the arguement that the
> only true "hunters" are those who hunt meteorites "cold" in the
> rainforest because that's even more difficult and requires even
> more commitment and a greater degree of doggedness than hunting
> dark meteorites on a light colored terrain.

While your hyperbole got a chuckle out of me, I think we're getting
off track here. In my original, somewhat flippant post I admit I
lost patience with Adam and Mike for their sniping at each other
about who was a real hunter and who wasn't, and for that I apologize.

--Rob
Received on Wed 14 May 2003 08:21:02 PM PDT