Antarctica is a tough place to work, for obvious reasons— it’s bitterly cold, remote, and wild. However, it’s one of the best places in the world to hunt for meteorites. That’s partly because Antarctica is a desert, and its dry climate limits the degree of weathering the meteorites experience. On to
p of the dry conditions, the landscape is ideal for meteorite hunting: the black space rocks stand out clearly against snowy fields. Even when meteorites sink into the ice, the glaciers’ churning motion against the rock below helps re-expose the meteorites near the surface of the continent’s blue ice fields.
An international team of researchers who just got back from Antarctica can attest to the continent’s meteorite-hunter-friendliness: they returned with five new meteorites, including one that weighs 16.7 pounds .Maria Valdes, a research scientist at the Field Museum and the, estimates that of the roughly 45,000 meteorites retrieved from Antarctica over the past century, only about a hundred or so are this size or larger.
Rocks strewn across an ice field, with the scientists searching for meteorites in the background. Credit: Courtesy of Maria Valdes “Going on an adventure exploring unknown areas is exciting,” says Debaille, “but we also had to deal with the fact that the reality on the ground is much more difficult than the beauty of satellite images.” Despite timing their trip for Antarctica’s summertime in late December, temperatures hovered around 14° F .
Valdes says she’s eager to see what the analyses of the meteorites reveal, because “studying meteorites helps us better understand our place in the universe. The bigger a sample size we have of meteorites, the better we can understand our Solar System, and the better we can understand ourselves.”The team was guided by Manu Poudelet of the International Polar Guide Association and assisted by Alain Hubert. They were supported in part by the Belgian Science Policy.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Rare 17-pound meteorite discovered in Antarctica | CNNDuring a recent excursion to the icy plains of Antarctica, an international team of researchers discovered five new meteorites -- including one of the largest ever found on the continent.
Les mer »
Rare 17-pound meteorite discovered in AntarcticaDuring a recent excursion to the icy plains of Antarctica, an international team of researchers discovered five new meteorites — including one of the largest ever found on the continent.
Les mer »
Rare 17-Pound Meteorite Discovered in Antarctica; Chicago Scientist Will Study SampleThe exceptional find is heading to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, where it will be studied. And Maria Valdes, a research scientist at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Chicago who was part of the expedition team, has kept some of the material for her own analysis.
Les mer »
Rare Antarctic meteorite is one of the largest ever foundWeighing in at 7.6 kilograms, this meteorite is one of the largest ever discovered in Antarctica. It likely contains some of the oldest material in the solar system
Les mer »
Field Museum scientist discovers large meteorite in Antarctica, 'This is the first time that I have found one myself''We all looked at each other, sort of hesitant glances, excited glances because we knew that if what we were looking at was a meteorite, then we had really hit the mother lode here.'
Les mer »