[meteorite-list] Meteorite hunting ethics

From: Rob Matson <mojave_meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:07:42 -0700
Message-ID: <GOEDJOCBMMEHLEFDHGMMKEGPDNAA.mojave_meteorites_at_cox.net>

Hi Joe/List,

> I feel Carl did nothing wrong, He found the strewnfield the
> only way he could, and he found it.

If by "wrong", you mean "illegal", then I would agree with you.
But if you mean "ethical", you're starting to get into a gray
area and a slippery slope. For instance, if Carl found his way
by his own devices (e.g. witness interviews, geometric triangulation,
etc.) to within a mile or two of the strewn field and discovered
a parked car (or several parked cars) in an odd location with
people walking around outside in 100+ degree temperatures, then
that would be an independent discovery. No problem.

But suppose he was only able to get within 10 miles of the right
location, and happened to spot Jack, or Robert or Mike driving by
while he was stopped for gas? 10 minutes later and gassed up, he
takes the same road and keeps driving until he spots their parked
vehicles. Still ethical? (100 square miles would have been a lot
of ground to cover, with no confirmation that you were even close
to the right location.) Suppose rather than merely driving the
same road 10 minutes later he had actively followed them,
remaining in visual range. Not illegal, but meteorite hunting
skill is slowly being overtaken by espionage.

Suppose Carl only knew that the fall was somewhere far enough
southeast of Tucson that any hunter from the Tucson area would
take I-10. He spots Mike entering the highway at an early hour
and follows him the rest of the way (staying far enough behind
so that his "tail" isn't spotted). Would you now feel as
comfortable saying, "I feel Carl did nothing wrong, he found
the strewnfield the only way he could"?

If you're still fine with this, let's take it a bit further.
Suppose you just don't have a head for math or geometry and don't
know east from west. But you happen to find out where Mike lives.
You have no idea when he's headed out and don't have the patience
to wait for days at a freeway entrance ramp. Why leave anything
to chance? Just stick a locator beacon on the underside of his
vehicle and see where he goes from the comfort of your air-
conditioned living room! (Of course, now you would have crossed
the line from unethical to illegal.)

My hyperbole is meant to illustrate that one man's "fair and
square" may be another man's "cheating". In this particular case,
Mike was put in a rather uncomfortable position because in poker
parlance he unintentionally provided the "tell" that revealed
the fall location to an outside party. How would you feel if you
had been invited to assist in the recovery of a new fall under
the condition that you not reveal that location to anyone else?
Embarrassed? Angry? Could anyone blame you for feeling that way?
After all, through no real fault of your own you have broken
your promise to Jack.

Jack is wise to the ways of the world, and certainly knew that
involving anyone else (and in particular someone high-profile)
was a calculated risk -- one that for a few weeks has certainly
paid off in terms of getting accurate masses, find locations,
and in situ photos. More finds than he would have made working
alone. I would hope that anyone who finds their way to the fall
site (preferably by non-cloak-and-dagger-means) would respect
Jack's work as the P.I. on this fall and provide him with all
find data. That means masses, coordinates, and in situ images.
If you don't have a GPS unit or a digital camera, find someone
who does before extracting a find; otherwise you are destroying
scientific data.

--Rob
Received on Sat 18 Jul 2009 04:07:42 PM PDT