[meteorite-list] Pairing discussion/questions

From: Jeff Grossman <jgrossman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:22:34 -0500
Message-ID: <OF9C423D66.8D32FD53-ON052576B0.0059FAB1_at_usgs.gov>

I can now report with some authority that the total cost of 30+ years
of collecting by ANSMET has been in the range of $20
million. Considering the record of scientific achievements that has
been built on this collection of 20,000 specimens, I would have to
say it has been a bargain.

Jeff

>>Make your homework. How many different meteorites do we have from
>>Antarctica after a third of a century hunting and spending billions
>>of USD? 7000.
>This statement, appearing in some of the recent emails, is
>wrong. There are over 16,000 classified meteorites from the ANSMET
>expeditions, plus a few thousand unclassified. Counting the
>Japanese, Chinese,European,
>Korean, and minor collections, There ~27,000 classified Antarctic
>meteorites, and probably close to 20,000 not yet classified (mostly
>in the Japanese and Chinese collections). And where in the world
>did this figure of billions of dollars being spent by the US to
>collect its 20,000 meteorites come from?
>
>Also, don't overlook the fact that Antarctic meteorite have proven
>to be vastly more valuable scientifically than NWA meteorites. They
>probably occur as subjects of scientific publications at >10x the
>frequency as NWA meteorites (I posted statistics on this some years
>ago, but can't locate it at the moment). This is because the main
>masses are well curated.
>
>Jeff


Dr. Jeffrey N. Grossman phone: (703) 648-6184
US Geological Survey fax: (703) 648-6383
954 National Center
Reston, VA 20192, USA
Received on Tue 19 Jan 2010 11:22:34 AM PST