[meteorite-list] Late Heavy Bombardment-- astroids, not comets

[Darren Garrison]

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/3085/full


News
Jupiter shift pelted inner planets with asteroids
Wednesday, 21 October 2009

by Holly Hight
Cosmos Online

PORTLAND, OREGON: A shift in Jupiter's orbit early in the life of the Solar
System dislodged thousands of rocks from the Asteroid Belt, causing them to hit
the inner planets, including Earth.

Evidence for this cataclysmic bombardment comes from a reanalysis of lunar rocks
brought back by the Apollo astronauts and a careful study of lunar craters, said
David Kring, a planetary geologist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in
Houston, Texas.

Kring presented his findings this week at the Geological Society of America's
annual meeting in Portland, USA.

Ancient cataclysm

Popularly known as the Late Heavy Bombardment, the cataclysm occurred during a
relatively short period of time - just 100 million years or so - representing a
spike in the number of large objects hitting the Earth, Moon, Mercury, Mars, and
Venus.

"Samples taken from the Apollo mission showed that a large number of impact
melts (lavas created by impacts) were generated at the same time," said Kring.

Moon rocks held in storage for more than four decades were restudied with
21st-century technologies to better date impact events during the cataclysm. "We
now understand impact rocks better," said Kring. "Forty years ago, when we went
to the Moon, we didn't know whether all the circular features were volcanic or
impact craters. Until we got those samples [from Apollo], we didn't have any
experience with impact craters."

Smoking gun

These techniques allow radiometric age dating, such as argon dating, with
smaller samples than before, effectively increasing the number of possible
tests. These tests (and others on asteroid fragments that have fallen to Earth
as meteors) revealed that the bombardment came from asteroids, not comets as
originally thought.

This is significant because an asteroid bombardment suggests an inner Solar
System cataclysm and not something that came from beyond the asteroid belt.
"Geochemical fingerprints point to asteroids," said Kring.

The scientists also calculated the size of the asteroids that formed lunar
craters known to be from the Late Heavy Bombardment, which occurred
approximately 3.9 billion years ago.

They then compared these to the size of the asteroids in the asteroid belt. The
conclusion: "The size distribution of craters on the Moon suggests the impacting
objects came from the Asteroid Belt," said Kring.

Models suggest a change in Jupiter's orbit would generate the resonances needed
to knock the asteroids off-course. "We now have increasing evidence in support
of the hypothesis that the giant planets' orbits have shifted over their
history," said Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona
in Tucson.

Adds Kring: "The data tells us that asteroids were the dominant source. And for
the asteroids to move, Jupiter would have had to have moved."

__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Grimsby Trip Report Day 5

[Colin Diggin]

I'll be out hunting in the Grimsby area tomorrow and then again over
the weekend.
Thanks for all your updates and pics.

Colin


On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 10:30 PM, Mike Bandli  wrote:
> Hello all
>
> Writing now from Buffalo, New York. Grimsby is in the books for Mike and me
> but some of the local scientists and collectors will soldier on and we wish
> them all the best.
>
> Today was part hunting and part "to do" list.
>
> We said our goodbyes to Dr's Hildebrand, McCausland, and Brown at the front
> desk of our hotel where we found the local paper handy will full color page
> one (and two) news covering the finds so far.
>
> Bandli and I set out to a local vineyard to search a few rows before we were
> met by Mike Farmer, Jim Stope and Patrick Herrmann. Light rain was on and
> off.
>
> We broke for lunch and set out our separate ways as Jim and Mike were headed
> to the airport and Patrick had to be home for another obligation.
>
> After lunch we went to the news office for more papers where showed off our
> stone and talked some more with the reporter who ended up hunting at the
> vineyard later that day. Next was the post office to send the stone to a
> contact in Canada while we decide what to do with it. Again, the folks at
> the counter were interested. Photos at the Grimsby sign were next followed
> by a few more hours of unsuccessful hunting.
>
> No finds were made by any teams as far as I know. The next few days are
> rain.
>
> We want to thank the people of Grimsby who were all exceedingly friendly and
> accommodating, especially the folks at Puddicombe Farms. We look forward to
> drinking the wine from the vineyard we are now all so familiar with.
>
> Until the next fall we can get to, may it come soon and to a town near all
> of us.
>
> Rob and Mike
>
>
> __
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Grimsby Trip Report Day 5

[Gary Fujihara]

Mahalo for your updates Rob and Mike.  Through the pictures and  
postings, I had a glimpse into what it was like to be on the ground in  
Grimsby, hunting for those elusive black stones.  And although it  
would have been nice to have found scads more, at least you have one  
recovered meteorite and that must feel real good (or at least better  
than being skunked).


The best of luck to the scientists and hunters still in the field, and  
safe travels for you and Mike as you find your way home.


gary

On Oct 21, 2009, at 4:30 PM, Mike Bandli wrote:


Hello all

Writing now from Buffalo, New York. Grimsby is in the books for Mike  
and me
but some of the local scientists and collectors will soldier on and  
we wish

them all the best.

Today was part hunting and part "to do" list.

We said our goodbyes to Dr's Hildebrand, McCausland, and Brown at  
the front
desk of our hotel where we found the local paper handy will full  
color page

one (and two) news covering the finds so far.

Bandli and I set out to a local vineyard to search a few rows before  
we were
met by Mike Farmer, Jim Stope and Patrick Herrmann. Light rain was  
on and

off.

We broke for lunch and set out our separate ways as Jim and Mike  
were headed

to the airport and Patrick had to be home for another obligation.

After lunch we went to the news office for more papers where showed  
off our
stone and talked some more with the reporter who ended up hunting at  
the
vineyard later that day. Next was the post office to send the stone  
to a
contact in Canada while we decide what to do with it. Again, the  
folks at
the counter were interested. Photos at the Grimsby sign were next  
followed

by a few more hours of unsuccessful hunting.

No finds were made by any teams as far as I know. The next few days  
are

rain.

We want to thank the people of Grimsby who were all exceedingly  
friendly and
accommodating, especially the folks at Puddicombe Farms. We look  
forward to

drinking the wine from the vineyard we are now all so familiar with.

Until the next fall we can get to, may it come soon and to a town  
near all

of us.

Rob and Mike


__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list


Gary Fujihara
AstroDay Institute
105 Puhili Place, Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 640-9161, fuj...@mac.com
http://astroday.net

__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] The bleeding edge

[E.P. Grondine]

Darren - 

I'm real sorry that that sale of the piece of the stolen Native American 
meteorite did not go as planned, but I still think that Rich is looking at 
secondary impacts.

How you got hold of my off list personal reply to him is puzzling to me right 
now. 

E.P.




  
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Grimsby Trip Report Day 5

[Mike Bandli]

Hello all

Writing now from Buffalo, New York. Grimsby is in the books for Mike and me
but some of the local scientists and collectors will soldier on and we wish
them all the best.

Today was part hunting and part "to do" list.

We said our goodbyes to Dr's Hildebrand, McCausland, and Brown at the front
desk of our hotel where we found the local paper handy will full color page
one (and two) news covering the finds so far.

Bandli and I set out to a local vineyard to search a few rows before we were
met by Mike Farmer, Jim Stope and Patrick Herrmann. Light rain was on and
off.

We broke for lunch and set out our separate ways as Jim and Mike were headed
to the airport and Patrick had to be home for another obligation.

After lunch we went to the news office for more papers where showed off our
stone and talked some more with the reporter who ended up hunting at the
vineyard later that day. Next was the post office to send the stone to a
contact in Canada while we decide what to do with it. Again, the folks at
the counter were interested. Photos at the Grimsby sign were next followed
by a few more hours of unsuccessful hunting.

No finds were made by any teams as far as I know. The next few days are
rain.

We want to thank the people of Grimsby who were all exceedingly friendly and
accommodating, especially the folks at Puddicombe Farms. We look forward to
drinking the wine from the vineyard we are now all so familiar with.

Until the next fall we can get to, may it come soon and to a town near all
of us.

Rob and Mike


__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] AD: Irons & Tektites

[Meteorites USA]

Hi List,

This is my ad for this week. I'll be placing another ad on Sunday for 
next week as well, since I have some new material coming in.


I've got some beautifully sculpted Canyon Diablo Irons and some 
wonderfully shaped indochinite tektites as well. There's some bargains 
available too on the more "normal" looking irons.


Check them out:

Canyon Diablo Iron Meteorites: 
http://www.meteoritesusa.com/iron-meteorites-for-sale.htm


Tektites: http://www.meteoritesusa.com/tektites-for-sale.htm

Multiple Item Orders Get Discounts!
Free Shipping Inside USA On Orders Over $50

Thanks and enjoy!

Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA
904-236-5394

P.S. I have more than this so if there's something specific you're 
looking for please let me know.


P.P.S. Send me an email off-list if you'd like to know what I'm getting in.
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Auctions Ending Tonight

[Jason Utas]

Hello All,
Those auctions I listed a while back are ending - tonight!

There are about five hours left at the moment on the following items:

1) A 2.06g Tamdakht fragment with a small patch of nicely textured
fusion crust.  This is the result of a larger stone's violent
encounter with earth - not overly impressive in itself, but when one
thinks about what led to its formation - kind of awesome.

2) A 9.4g fragment of NWA 1953.  This fragment represents about 1/7 of
the tkw, and has two large (3-4mm+) chondrules sticking out of it -
one of which is distincly green-grey in color.  It's a nice completely
desert-varnished fragment of a fairly low NWA number with a very low
total known weight.  There's a lot of fresh metal sticking out on the
bottom of the stone - I'm assuming this would be nice cutting
material.  Also, check out the chondrule-void - killer hole on one end of it.

3) A .2257g cut fragment of Paragould.  One of Nininger's first field
recoveries, and the largest witnessed fall at the time, Paragould is
one of the more historic American meteorites - second probably to
Weston, but significantly harder to acquire - and nicer, in my
opinion.

4) A 6.2g end-cut of NWA 1696 - again, a low tkw meteorite with a
pretty low NWA number.  Also note - a weathering grade of one, and a
breccia of both unequilibrated and equilibrated material.  Pretty neat
stone, a good example of a chondrite and of a breccia.  While it isn't
the largest piece I will be listing, it is certainly the least-weathered.


All are visible at the following link:

http://shop.ebay.com/calimeteoritefinder/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

Thanks,
Jason
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs

[Mexicodoug]

"encircling the central peak, known as the Bombay High, which would be 
3 miles tall from the ocean floor(about the height of Mount McKinley)."


Hi Elton, List,

Lots of creativity in this article; A better comparison would have been 
"almost half as high as Mauna Kea". By the same criterion they used 
they also could have said it is higher than Mount Everest.


In any case, India did it. Mexico would never kill off the Dinosaurs, 
the kids like them so much. Whether this works amounts to something 
important or not, it struck me (again) how the passage of time 
sometimes allows challenges and changes to thought about things that 
were incredibly obvious to those who demand answers. But then they can 
become uncomfortably complex ... adding grist to the scientific mill 
and giving all those Dino-deprived kids something to do when they grow 
up. That's better than eyes glazing over on textbooks or (Paleopedia) 
written in the prior century when the wild frontier of problems awaited 
conquest!


Kindest wishes,
Doug






-Original Message-
From: MEM 
To: metlist 
Sent: Wed, Oct 21, 2009 10:44 am
Subject: [meteorite-list] Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May 
Have Doomed Dinosaurs




World's new largest impact crater just confirmed. 500km with a possibly 
40km

impactor

Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs.


*Three-dimensional reconstruction of the submerged Shiva crater (~500 km
diameter) at the Mumbai Offshore Basin, western shelf of India from
different cross-sectional and geophysical data. The overlying 
4.3-mile-tick
Cenozoic strata and water column were removed to show the morphology of 
the

crater. (Credit: Image courtesy of Geological Society Of America)*

Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2009) — A mysterious basin off the coast of India
could be the largest, multi-ringed impact crater the world has ever 
seen. And if
a new study is right, it may have been responsible for killing the 
dinosaurs off

65 million years ago.

Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University and a team of researchers 
took a
close look at the massive Shiva basin, a submerged depression west of 
India that
is intensely mined for its oil and gas resources. Some complex craters 
are among
the most productive hydrocarbon sites on the planet. Chatterjee will 
present his
research at this month's Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of 
America in

Portland, Oregon.

“If we are right, this is the largest crater known on our planet,”
Chatterjee said. “A bolide of this size, perhaps 40 kilometers (25 
miles) in

diameter creates its own tectonics.”

By contrast, the object that struck the Yucatan Peninsula, and is 
commonly
thought to have killed the dinosaurs was between 8 and 10 kilometers (5 
and 6.2

miles) wide.

It's hard to imagine such a cataclysm. But if the team is right, the 
Shiva
impact vaporized Earth's crust at the point of collision, leaving 
nothing but
ultra-hot mantle material to well up in its place. It is likely that 
the impact
enhanced the nearby Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions that covered much 
of western
India. What's more, the impact broke the Seychelles islands off of the 
Indian

tectonic plate, and sent them drifting toward Africa.

The geological evidence is dramatic. Shiva's outer rim forms a rough,
faulted ring some 500 kilometers in diameter, encircling the central 
peak, known
as the Bombay High, which would be 3 miles tall from the ocean 
floor(about the

height of Mount McKinley). Most of the crater lies submerged on India's
continental shelf, but where it does come ashore it is marked by tall 
cliffs,
active faults and hot springs. The impact appears to have sheared or 
destroyed

much of the 30-mile-thick granite layer in the western coast of India.

The team hopes to go India later this year to examine rocks drill from 
the
center of the putative crater for clues that would prove the strange 
basin was

formed by a gigantic impact.

“Rocks from the bottom of the crater will tell us the telltale sign of 
the
impact event from shattered and melted target rocks. And we want to see 
if there

are breccias, shocked quartz, and an iridium anomaly,” Chatterjee said.
Asteroids are rich in iridium, and such anomalies are thought of as the
fingerprint of an impact.
 - -
*Adapted from materials provided by Geological Society Of
America
*.

Geological Society Of America. "Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico 
-- May

Have Doomed Dinosaurs." *ScienceDaily* 15 October 2009.16October 2009
.

__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Test ...

[Colin Diggin]

Delete
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] (AD) Admire Pallasite Meteorite Slices!

[Keith and Dana Jenkerson]

Hello, Everybody!

  I wanted to let everyone know that we have some beautiful Admire
Pallasite Slices available. Here is the link to go to them:

http://kdmeteorites.com/AdmireMeteoriteSlicesforSale.html

  There will be larger slices available in the future. If you have any
questions, shoot us an email!

Thanks for looking.
Keith and Dana
--
KD Meteorites
kdmeteorites.com
Keith and Dana Jenkerson
4596 N. Vickie Lane
Kingman, AZ., 86409
928-399-0140
928-277-9293
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] More on the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi Paul - 

Thanks for keeping us updated on this. Undoubtedly some mammoth must have 
survived, but not enough to breed against hunting, hence the Indiana find.
While we see elk hunting after the impact in Ohio, the points are not fluted, 
if memory serves.

Once again, there is no reason for the peoples to have made up their stories of 
a massive impact unless one occurred. And when is NASA going to pitch any funds 
to those working on proving that an impact did occur? After the new IG gets in 
place, and looks at Griffin's ignoring the George Brown Jr. ammendment?

Sticking with the one ad a week rule, copies of my book "Man and Impact in the 
Americas" are available by sending $20 plus $5 for shipping in the US or plus 
$15 for shipping overseas to 

E.P. Grondine
P.O. Box 158 
Kempton, IL
60946

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas


  
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Scientists try to calm 2012 hysteria

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi Paul, all - 

What the scientists are dealing with is a well organized and networked 
industry. 

Copies of my guide inside the cult archaeology industry are available by 
writing to me for one.

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas


  
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Stolen Specimens from Iceland

[Zelimir Gabelica]

Dear Peter, listees,

Indeed, this is a terrible news, a real shame!

What can be done ?

We, as collectors and mineral (zeolite) lovers 
should (must!) act, through one way or another.


Personally as a natural zeolite collector and 
lover, I am ready to transfer the news (Peter's 
mail) to anyone who might be concerned closely or from afar.
As an active member of the International Zeolite 
Association (IZA) and elected member of two IZA 
sub-commissions, namely the "Synthesis 
Commission" and "Natural Zeolite Commission", 
also as a member of the International Natural 
Zeolite Association (INZA), I will now promptly 
alert the heads or responsible persons of these associations about the theft.


Believing that the stolen specimens can (most 
probably will) also readily reach the various 
collector's markets (mineral shows), it could be 
advisable to contact the main 
responsibles/chairmen of the forthcoming  mineral show in Europe and elsewhere.
I am personally in regular contact with the 
organizers of the Europe's top Munich show (next 
edition: Oct 31, Nov 01, contacts: Johannes & 
Christoph Keilmann), The (biggest in Belgium) 
Liege mineral show (Nov 6-8, contact Roger 
Warin), the future Ste Marie-aux-Mines show (Euro 
Mineral Expo, June 24-27, 2010, Michel Schwab) 
and, with the help of many friends, I am ready to 
contact many other show organizers in Europe as well.


I believe our List members from overseas can do the same for the US shows.

Finally, I will contact editors of the main 
European mineralogical journals (I do regularly 
subscribe to many of them) and encourage them to put a related advertisement.


Museum curators are possible candidates for 
contacts so I believe Peter can help here, by 
alerting his colleagues (or providing the appropriate addresses).


It would be also appropriate that a list 
describing the stolen specimens, possibly with 
pictures, be somewhere available (Peter, is there 
a web site available anywhere ?).


Zeolites from Berufjördur (Teigarhorn national 
park) are old and very valuable classics, world 
renown as true zeolite references. I have the 
privilege to owe a few (old specimens with 
genuine 19th century labels, most acquired in the 
1980', 1990's from show dealers and originating 
from well known German and/or French 
mineralogical museum duplicates). They are 
considered among the most aesthetic of the 
zeolites in the mineral kingdom. Moreover, 
Teigarhorn is also the type locality of epistilbite.
I am convinced we really must do something very 
promptly to try to stop thieves from dispersing 
this world heritage throughout the "wild market".


Thank you very much Peter!

My best,

Zelimir


At 10:07 21/10/2009, Peter Davidson wrote:

Dear List Members

I apologise for taking you a little off-topic (like that's never
happened before!), but I would like to bring the following very
disturbing news to your attention. I know from chatting to many of you,
and I am thinking of people like Zelimir Gabelica, that not a few of you
are keen on collecting minerals, especially zeolites, so this may be of
interest to many of you out there. The message is:

"Dear Peter

Thank you for the information regarding the Meeting in Munich. Due to
teaching duties I will arrive only later in the afternoon and I am not
sure whether I can make it to the meeting.

However, I would like to ask you for a favour: I just got notice from a
Swiss geologist in Iceland (a former student of mine) that the Mineral
museum at Teigarhorn in Djupivogur (Berufjord), in the heart of the
zeolite find area, has recently been robbed and a significant number of
mineral specimens have been stolen.

http://www.mindat.org/mesg-56-156779.html

http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2009/10/17/um_500_steinum_stolid_a_
teigarhorni/ (in Icelandic)

According to this report 500 pieces valued around 120'000 US$.

Christa Feucht is collecting any information regarding this incident for
the museum there.
chri...@feucht.ch
phone +354 8659857 (Iceland)
http://geothermal.is/employees/17

It would be great if you could circulate this information among the
members and perhaps mention this during the meeting.

I hope still to make it to the meeting.

With my best regards
Beda (Hofmann)
(Natural History Museum, Bern, Switzerland)"

I would ask all of you to keep your eyes and ears open and to alert the
authorities if you hear of anything. I would also ask you to please pass
this message on to other mineral collectors, dealers and curators you
may know.

Many thanks for your attention

Peter Davidson
Curator of Minerals
National Museums Collection Centre
National Museums Scotland
242 West Granton Road
Edinburgh
EH5 1JA
Phone: +44 131 247 4283
p.david...@nms.ac.uk
www.nms.ac.uk
Salt of the Earth: famous faces with Scottish 
roots, photographed by Craig Mackay. National 
Museum of Scotland. Opening 16 October.


www.nms.ac.uk/salt 
__
http://www.m

[meteorite-list] World’s first phone to “uti lize the compelling beauty of meteorite.”

[Peter Marmet]

http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/10/19/mobiado-grand-350-pioneer-luxury-phone-pays-homage-to-nasa/


"What’s unique about the Mobiado Grand 350 Pioneer is that its battery
cover is literally made out
of materials from the Gibeon meteorite, discovered in Namibia in 1836.
The meteorite is believed
to come from asteroid belts near Mars and Jupiter; its composition is
90% iron and 8%nickel,
plus small traces of phosphorus and cobalt."

Peter
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs

[MEM]

World's new largest impact crater just confirmed. 500km with a possibly 40km 
impactor

Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs.


*Three-dimensional reconstruction of the submerged Shiva crater (~500 km
diameter) at the Mumbai Offshore Basin, western shelf of India from
different cross-sectional and geophysical data. The overlying 4.3-mile-tick 
Cenozoic strata and water column were removed to show the morphology of the 
crater. (Credit: Image courtesy of Geological Society Of America)*

Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2009) — A mysterious basin off the coast of India
could be the largest, multi-ringed impact crater the world has ever seen. And 
if a new study is right, it may have been responsible for killing the dinosaurs 
off 65 million years ago.

Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University and a team of researchers took a 
close look at the massive Shiva basin, a submerged depression west of India 
that is intensely mined for its oil and gas resources. Some complex craters are 
among the most productive hydrocarbon sites on the planet. Chatterjee will 
present his research at this month's Annual Meeting of the Geological Society 
of America in Portland, Oregon.

“If we are right, this is the largest crater known on our planet,”
Chatterjee said. “A bolide of this size, perhaps 40 kilometers (25 miles) in 
diameter creates its own tectonics.”

By contrast, the object that struck the Yucatan Peninsula, and is commonly 
thought to have killed the dinosaurs was between 8 and 10 kilometers (5 and 6.2 
miles) wide.

It's hard to imagine such a cataclysm. But if the team is right, the Shiva 
impact vaporized Earth's crust at the point of collision, leaving nothing but 
ultra-hot mantle material to well up in its place. It is likely that the impact 
enhanced the nearby Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions that covered much of 
western India. What's more, the impact broke the Seychelles islands off of the 
Indian tectonic plate, and sent them drifting toward Africa.

The geological evidence is dramatic. Shiva's outer rim forms a rough,
faulted ring some 500 kilometers in diameter, encircling the central peak, 
known as the Bombay High, which would be 3 miles tall from the ocean 
floor(about the height of Mount McKinley). Most of the crater lies submerged on 
India's continental shelf, but where it does come ashore it is marked by tall 
cliffs, active faults and hot springs. The impact appears to have sheared or 
destroyed much of the 30-mile-thick granite layer in the western coast of India.

The team hopes to go India later this year to examine rocks drill from the 
center of the putative crater for clues that would prove the strange basin was 
formed by a gigantic impact.

“Rocks from the bottom of the crater will tell us the telltale sign of the 
impact event from shattered and melted target rocks. And we want to see if 
there are breccias, shocked quartz, and an iridium anomaly,” Chatterjee said. 
Asteroids are rich in iridium, and such anomalies are thought of as the 
fingerprint of an impact.
 - -
*Adapted from materials provided by Geological Society Of
America
*.

Geological Society Of America. "Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May 
Have Doomed Dinosaurs." *ScienceDaily* 15 October 2009.16October 2009 
.

__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Recent Papers Related to the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis

[Paul]

Two recent papers related to the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis are:

Woodman, N., and N. B. Athfiel, 2009, Post-Clovis survival of 
American Mastodon in the southern Great Lakes Region of North 
America. Quaternary Research. vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 359-363.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2009.06.009

One statement in the paper is:

"Previous study of relative numbers of preserved spores of 
the dung fungus Sporormiella, used as a proxy for megafaunal 
biomass, suggests that populations of large mammals were in 
steep decline in northeastern North America before the onset 
of the YDC."

Another paper in the same issue is:

Newby, P., J. Bradley, A. Spiess, B. Shuman, and P. Leduc,
2009, A Paleoindian response to Younger Dryas climate change.
Quaternary Science Reviews. vol. 24, no. 1-2, pp. 141-154.
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.04.010 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.04.010

Your,

Paul H.


  
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] tucson updates

[steve arnold]

Hello list.I want to thank a few people who gave me the tucson updates.Another 
thing,who is all coming next year?The great thing about the longest and BIGGEST 
and BEST meteorite show in the world is the people who come.It's great to see 
old friends you see everyyear there,but it's the new ones who come for the 
first time.I think for all the 6 shows I've been to,I think 2010 might be one 
of the biggest yet.So who is all coming next year?All inquiring minds want to 
know.
 Steve R. Arnold, Chicago!! 
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Grimsby Trip Report Day 4 (a good one!)

[Meteorites USA]

A BIG congrats to Rob, Mike B,  Mike F, Jim and all,

Great job on the find to both Robs!

Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA



Mike Bandli wrote:

Hello all

Today we did what we set out to do!

Late last night we got an email from Rob Matson, who can only be described
as a half man-half robot juggernaut of number crunching mojo. Taking into
consideration the all-sky camera network, Doppler radar, and jet stream
winds he proffered the simplified advice "Tilt the presumed fall pattern a
bit clockwise." While it was nerve-wracking to wander off the known path, we
had nothing to lose in trying so we set out after a quick stop to re-trace
the steps taken by the scientists at a possible greenhouse hammer location,
where there was a report of a broken ceiling window that coincided with the
day of the fall. We are almost certain a meteorite caused this, but a stone
is nowhere to be found!

Having no luck at the greenhouse, we proceeded to the 'Matson' location.
After hours of searching, we found ourselves footsore and hungry so we broke
from lunch. Arriving back to the spot after the carbs stared kicking in we
walked through a ditch to get back on the vineyard and there it was..a
complete 14.5 gram individual sitting in the dried mud. We had walked past
it on the way out, amazing what a belly full of food and a fresh start can
do.

This makes stone number four with countless man hours spent in the field.
The TKW now totals ~135 grams. With rain on the menu, and snow shortly on
the way, work must be done fast if there is any hope of recovery. The US
hunters are out the door tomorrow and much of the Canadians are headed home
as well.

We gridded like none other the rest of the day, among the vines and Bird
Blasters which are compressed air cannons that resonate like shotguns in
order to keep the birds away from the grapes. They fire and random intervals
and will scare the crap out of you if they go off anywhere near you.

We will hear those cannons tonight. We will see the vineyard rows behind our
closed eyes. We will dream of meteorites.

That was the only find of the day and the Scientists raced out to study our
find. We had much time to discuss the find and the event with Dr. Peter
Brown, Dr. Alan Hildebrand, and Calgary meteoritics student Ellen Millie.
Dr. Brown discussed the successes of the all-sky camera network in
predicting not only the fall area but where it fell from making this "The
most well documented bolide in history and to see the meteorite here makes
it all worthwhile."

It was lobster tonight for me; we all enjoyed an excellent celebratory meal.

Tomorrow is our last day before we out the lovely town of Grimsby in the
rearview mirror.

Here are some more pics:

http://historicmeteorites.com/HistoricMeteorites/grimsby.html

Rob and Mike

__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

  


__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Stolen Specimens from Iceland

[Peter Davidson]

Dear List Members

I apologise for taking you a little off-topic (like that's never
happened before!), but I would like to bring the following very
disturbing news to your attention. I know from chatting to many of you,
and I am thinking of people like Zelimir Gabelica, that not a few of you
are keen on collecting minerals, especially zeolites, so this may be of
interest to many of you out there. The message is:

"Dear Peter

Thank you for the information regarding the Meeting in Munich. Due to
teaching duties I will arrive only later in the afternoon and I am not
sure whether I can make it to the meeting.

However, I would like to ask you for a favour: I just got notice from a
Swiss geologist in Iceland (a former student of mine) that the Mineral
museum at Teigarhorn in Djupivogur (Berufjord), in the heart of the
zeolite find area, has recently been robbed and a significant number of
mineral specimens have been stolen.

http://www.mindat.org/mesg-56-156779.html

http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2009/10/17/um_500_steinum_stolid_a_
teigarhorni/ (in Icelandic)

According to this report 500 pieces valued around 120'000 US$.

Christa Feucht is collecting any information regarding this incident for
the museum there.
chri...@feucht.ch
phone +354 8659857 (Iceland)
http://geothermal.is/employees/17

It would be great if you could circulate this information among the
members and perhaps mention this during the meeting.

I hope still to make it to the meeting.

With my best regards
Beda (Hofmann)
(Natural History Museum, Bern, Switzerland)"

I would ask all of you to keep your eyes and ears open and to alert the
authorities if you hear of anything. I would also ask you to please pass
this message on to other mineral collectors, dealers and curators you
may know.

Many thanks for your attention

Peter Davidson
Curator of Minerals
National Museums Collection Centre
National Museums Scotland
242 West Granton Road
Edinburgh
EH5 1JA
Phone: +44 131 247 4283
p.david...@nms.ac.uk
www.nms.ac.uk
Salt of the Earth: famous faces with Scottish roots, photographed by Craig 
Mackay. National Museum of Scotland. Opening 16 October. 

www.nms.ac.uk/salt 
__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Grimsby Trip Report Day 4 (a good one!)

[Matthias Bärmann]

Thanks again, Rob & Mike.

I rely on imagining the situation: "normal" environment, daily life around, 
but there must be something completely different ... and here it is! Must be 
breathtaking.


Wish you a successful approach to the main mass today ;-)

Best,

Matthias

- Original Message - 
From: "Mike Bandli" 

To: "'Meteorite List'" 
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:58 AM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Grimsby Trip Report Day 4 (a good one!)



Hello all

Today we did what we set out to do!

Late last night we got an email from Rob Matson, who can only be described
as a half man-half robot juggernaut of number crunching mojo. Taking into
consideration the all-sky camera network, Doppler radar, and jet stream
winds he proffered the simplified advice "Tilt the presumed fall pattern a
bit clockwise." While it was nerve-wracking to wander off the known path, 
we

had nothing to lose in trying so we set out after a quick stop to re-trace
the steps taken by the scientists at a possible greenhouse hammer 
location,
where there was a report of a broken ceiling window that coincided with 
the
day of the fall. We are almost certain a meteorite caused this, but a 
stone

is nowhere to be found!

Having no luck at the greenhouse, we proceeded to the 'Matson' location.
After hours of searching, we found ourselves footsore and hungry so we 
broke

from lunch. Arriving back to the spot after the carbs stared kicking in we
walked through a ditch to get back on the vineyard and there it was..a
complete 14.5 gram individual sitting in the dried mud. We had walked past
it on the way out, amazing what a belly full of food and a fresh start can
do.

This makes stone number four with countless man hours spent in the field.
The TKW now totals ~135 grams. With rain on the menu, and snow shortly on
the way, work must be done fast if there is any hope of recovery. The US
hunters are out the door tomorrow and much of the Canadians are headed 
home

as well.

We gridded like none other the rest of the day, among the vines and Bird
Blasters which are compressed air cannons that resonate like shotguns in
order to keep the birds away from the grapes. They fire and random 
intervals

and will scare the crap out of you if they go off anywhere near you.

We will hear those cannons tonight. We will see the vineyard rows behind 
our

closed eyes. We will dream of meteorites.

That was the only find of the day and the Scientists raced out to study 
our

find. We had much time to discuss the find and the event with Dr. Peter
Brown, Dr. Alan Hildebrand, and Calgary meteoritics student Ellen Millie.
Dr. Brown discussed the successes of the all-sky camera network in
predicting not only the fall area but where it fell from making this "The
most well documented bolide in history and to see the meteorite here makes
it all worthwhile."

It was lobster tonight for me; we all enjoyed an excellent celebratory 
meal.


Tomorrow is our last day before we out the lovely town of Grimsby in the
rearview mirror.

Here are some more pics:

http://historicmeteorites.com/HistoricMeteorites/grimsby.html

Rob and Mike

__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list 


__
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list