[meteorite-list] Meteorite smugglers anger scientists - stamp collection

From: Armando Afonso <armandoafonso_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 09:50:45 +0100
Message-ID: <000601c780cd$7d64af70$62b0fea9_at_TOSHIBA>

By the way,
What is the interest of the meteorites to the average "collector"?
They are simply "nice" or "interesting", isn`t it?
Like a collection of stamps?
Most of the real interest of this materials relates to statistics of
chemical and isotopical composition and other arid informations, of no
interest to a linguistic student or a plumber, I believe. And nothing of
that information can be extracted from "cleaned" and oiled specimens.
I have myself a few common meteorites as a complement of a systematic
mineral collection, to represent the native elements namely, but I don`t see
the interest of keeping a specimen with features that I can not appreciate
or put in evidence for some objective purpose.
For that reason, a very rare meteorite would be a waste in my collection.
A serious protocol is needed to collect and store this materials, if the
specimen value is to be preserved.
Regards.
AA


---- Original Message -----
From: "mark ford" <markf at ssl.gb.com>
To: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 9:17 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorite smugglers anger scientists


> Don't forget there are actually LOTS of Antarctic meteorites! I'd say
> those figures are pretty good considering most (though not all) NWA's
> are usually quite weathered, and off a bit less science value than the
> pristine ones collected on ice... That's probably why the statistics
> show non NWA's are under represented in literature. I doubt it's because
> NWA's are too expensive to work on.
>
>
> Best
> Mark Ford
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Jeff
> Grossman
> Sent: 17 April 2007 01:42
> To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorite smugglers anger scientists
>
> At 06:29 PM 4/16/2007, ensoramanda wrote:
>>So if science is "losing important material for study" to
>>dealers/hunters/collectors of NWA's, why dont we hear much about all
>>the amazing research that must be coming out of the thousands of
>>meteorites from Antarctica? !!! Science has exclusive use of these
>>but I never seem to hear much exciting news about them...or am I
>>just not looking in the right place?
>>
>>Graham Ensor, nr Barwell UK
>
> You are looking in the wrong place. Far more important research
> results have been coming from the Antarctic meteorites than from hot
> desert meteorites.
>
> I did a quick count of meteorites used in studies published in both
> major meteoritics and cosmochemistry journals in 2006. Each tally
> means one meteorite mentioned in one paper (if the same meteorite is
> mentioned in 6 papers, it counts for 6). Here are the results:
>
> Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta:
>
> Saharan+Oman meteorites: 22
> Antarctic meteorites: 62
> Non-Antarctic/non-saharan meteorites: 109 plus one paper with 50.
>
> In Meteoritics and Planetary Science:
>
> Saharan+Oman meteorites: 10
> Antarctic meteorites: 80 plus one paper with many.
> Non-Antarctic/non-saharan meteorites: 106 plus one paper with many.
>
> The real question is, why are hot desert meteorites so miserably
> UNDER-represented in the literature. I think there are several
> answers, and there are probably many more:
>
> 1) Falls are often the most valuable samples for research due to lack
> of weathering.
> 2) Research specimens of hot desert meteorites tend to be very small.
> 3) Hot desert meteorite are not well distributed in the research
> collections of the world (especially in the US), and are much harder
> for scientists to obtain.
> 4) All of the major Antarctic collections are well curated and have
> formal procedures in place for obtaining samples.
> 5) Hot desert meteorite collections are useless for the study of irons.
>
> Jeff
>
>
>>Greg Hupe wrote:
>>
>>>Hi Darren, Mike and List,
>>>
>>>I couldn't have said it better myself! It takes a huge investment
>>>to limp away from Morocco with a planetary or other rare meteorite
>>>these days. I would have said "walk away", but after having to give
>>>up your right arm, left leg, first born, etc. to get one of these.
>>>Well, you get the idea!
>>>
>>>Happy collecting!
>>>Greg
>>>
>>>====================
>>>Greg Hupe
>>>The Hupe Collection
>>>NaturesVault (eBay)
>>>gmhupe at tampabay.rr.com
>>>www.LunarRock.com
>>>IMCA 3163
>>>====================
>>>
>>>
>>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Farmer"
> <meteoriteguy at yahoo.com>
>>>To: <cynapse at charter.net>; <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>>>Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 4:27 PM
>>>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorite smugglers anger scientists
>>>
>>>
>>>>The Moroccans are smarter now than most collectors.
>>>>You will not get a lunar or Martian meteorite cheap
>>>>there now. 90% of them can recognize one in a second.
>>>>Don't feel too sorry for most of the Moroccans, they
>>>>make much more money than most of us dealers who pay
>>>>nearly retail for the material IN MOROCCO, and they
>>>>live quite well off of the meteorites. It has greatly
>>>>impacted the financial well-being of most of them
>>>>involved in the meteorite trade. I mean come on, now
>>>>they get tens of thousands of $$$ for a black rock
>>>>they picked up in the sand. How often does that happen
>>>>to someone in Germany or the UK?
>>>>Michael Farmer
>>>>--- Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:06:52 -0400, you wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> >Hello Moni and List,
>>>>> >If the article is referring to unclassified
>>>>>material,which would make sense,
>>>>> >thereby allowing material never to reach the
>>>>>scientific community, the point
>>>>> >is well taken.
>>>>>
>>>>>The problem with that argument is that from the
>>>>>stories that the people who go
>>>>>to Morocco tell, those nomads aren't nearly as
>>>>>clueless as the article writer
>>>>>claims that they are. They may have been at first,
>>>>>but they learned to notice
>>>>>the difference between a common meteorite and a
>>>>>valuable one. Which is why
>>>>>people like MF and the Hupes have to make big
>>>>>negotiations to get their lunars,
>>>>>Martians, and other rare achondrites instead of
>>>>>getting them for 10 cents a gram
>>>>>in heaps of OCs. The rare stuff is going to be
>>>>>recognized by the original
>>>>>dealers and sold at rare stuff prices to rare stuff
>>>>>dealers/collectors.
>>>>>______________________________________________
>>>>>Meteorite-list mailing list
>>>>>Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>______________________________________________
>>>>Meteorite-list mailing list
>>>>Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>
>>>
>>>______________________________________________
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>>>
>>______________________________________________
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>>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
> Dr. Jeffrey N. Grossman phone: (703) 648-6184
> US Geological Survey fax: (703) 648-6383
> 954 National Center
> Reston, VA 20192, USA
>
>
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Received on Tue 17 Apr 2007 04:50:45 AM PDT