[meteorite-list] Meteorite Is A Research Field Day (Tagish Lake Meteorite)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Apr 28 12:07:48 2006
Message-ID: <200604272016.NAA15574_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.whitehorsestar.com/auth.php?r=42434

Meteorite is a research field day
By Chuck Tobin
Whitehorse Daily Star (Canada)
April 26, 2006

University of Alberta professor Christopher Herd says in the world of
meteorite research, he can't think of anything more significant than the
recovery of the Tagish Lake Meteorite.

He says he wouldn't be surprised if there was an international approach
to plot the research into the material, given its age and pristine nature.

Most certainly at a minimum, any research will be a national effort of
Canadian scientists, he said in an interview Tuesday.

Herd says it's also likely the 850 grams recovered by Atlin, B.C.
resident Jim Brook six years ago could warrant funding for a special lab
initially dedicated specifically for handling the Tagish Lake material.

The curator of meteorites for the U of A says this type of meteorite,
which he suspects was around to witness the birth of this solar system
some 4.6 billion years ago, is rare in itself.

Only two to three per cent of meteorite material that falls to Earth is
of the carbonaceous chondrite type, he says.

Herd points out the Tagish Lake Meteorite fits into a subgroup which
represents just one-tenth of a per cent of material that reaches Earth.q

He emphasizes the second-greatest attribute about the chunks of
meteorite collected by Brook is the manner in which it was collected and
stored to preserve its pristine characteristics.

There was no skin contact with the material, preventing any chance of
contamination by organic matter from the fingers and hands, Herd says.

Brook, he points out, also stored the material in a freezer, preventing
any disintegration of the chemical or mineral make-up of the meteorite.

Herd explains that had material fallen in warmer temperatures and not in
mid-January 2000, even if it was collected promptly and properly, there
would still be a loss of the original makeup, as certain traces of
mineral would disappear in the warmth.

And while some meteors can be damaged by heat coming into the Earth's
atmosphere, it doesn't appear as though there's been any significant
damage or alteration to the material collected by the 52-year-old Atlinite.

"So what that means is this asteroid is a sample of the original stuff,"
says Herd. "I do not think there has ever been an opportunity like this
before."

Just as the moon rocks collected by the Apollo moon missions are
considered a U.S. national treasure, Herd suggests the Tagish Lake
Meteorite material carries the same type of distinction for Canada.

Herd says 30 years later, there is still a huge interest in the moon
rocks, with scientists around the world applying to study them.

The Tagish Lake Meteorite, he insists, does indeed present a truly
unique opportunity to study pristine material that was around when the
sun was formed.

Herd says during his effort to secure funding to purchase the material
from Brook, he impressed upon those in control of the purse strings that
the $850,000 - or $1,000 a gram - to buy the material was absolutely
justified.

To gather the Apollo moon rocks beginning in 1969, he points out, cost
millions upon millions of dollars.

Relatively speaking, to have the opportunity to examine material that
may provide a new snapshot into the building blocks of life, the
$850,000 is fairly inexpensive, Herd says.

"I can almost guarantee we will be able to say something new about the
solar system that we have not been able to say before."

Herd says it's too soon to say how quickly the research will bear fruit.
It may happen very early into the exercise, or it may be three or four
years or longer.

In addition to the benefits of new knowledge, a successful research
program provides the opportunity for the University of Alberta - working
with its partners - to establish itself as a world-class institute
capable of conducting such research, he says.

"The University or Alberta Meteorite Collection is the second largest
collection of meteorites in Canada," says a background document released
last Friday when the university unveiled the new collection, once the
purchase had been finalized.

"The addition of the Tagish Lake Meteorite to the University of Alberta
Meteorite Collection will raise the status of the collection to one of
the most important in the world."

The meteorite lit up the skies over Whitehorse and a large part of
southern Yukon on Jan. 18, 2000, shortly before 9 a.m.
While Brook, a former commercial pilot and the owner of Osprey Air in
Atlin, did not see it first-hand, he did plot a likely course of
trajectory based on its dust trail.

A few days later, he flew the area where he thought he might see
material scattered on the snow, but was unsuccessful, Brook explained in
an interview with the Star earlier this week.

He said it was about a week later as he was hauling a truck load of
supplies over the ice on Tagish Lake, in the late afternoon with the
headlights on, that he first noticed fragments of not larger than seven
metres long.

Of the 850 grams purchased, approximately 650 grams went to the
university in 29 pieces, ranging from one gram in weight to just 160 grams.
The Royal Ontario Museum, also a partner in the purchase, received 200
grams. A third partner, Natural Resources Canada, will use a portion of
the Tagish Lake Meteorite as a centrepiece for the national meteorite
collection.

The three partners, with the assistance of a $437,000 federal grant,
spearheaded the purchase.

While Brook had applied last year to export the material, he said this
week it was always his desire to see the material stay in Canada for
research here.
Received on Thu 27 Apr 2006 04:16:34 PM PDT