[meteorite-list] Gold Basin multiple meteorite finds
Sonny asked, I would like know why certain areas hold more meteorites and , could these areas be Super Accumulation Areas? For example Gold Basin has produced 3000 + meteorites. Four different types, three ordinary chondrites and one mesosiderite. If Gold Basin has trulyproduced only four different meteorite types (isn't it more than that?), then I suppose I would call that unusual -- unusually low. With the army of people that have been working that area for so long, I would expect a greater number of serendipitous finds unpaired to Gold Basin. What's the approximate area that we're talking about, in square kilometers? On a good-quality, old surface, the area in km^2 is about how many unpaired meteorites you should expect to find. There has been other strewnfields with different types of meteorite all found in the same location. This is a natural consequence of focused searching. Meteorites are everywhere, but people don't hunt just anywhere -- most hours are spent where other meteorites have been found. Indeed, once you've found one, that sort of tells you that the region is "hospitable" to meteorites, improving the odds that others will be found. Cheers, Rob
Re: [meteorite-list] Gold Basin multiple meteorite finds
Hello Everyone, Another interesting note on multiple meteorite find area's is the habit for the multiple finds to be L chondrites. Such as in Gold Basin and the Atacama desert, each place has been hunted very well and for a period ofseveral years. A rash, and likely untrue, thought might be that H chondrites, weather into L's. I don't so much think that myselfbut gives one something to think about at that next stoplight. Mark Bostick www.meteoritearticles.com
[meteorite-list] Gold Basin multiple meteorite finds
Hi Mark and List, Another interesting note on multiple meteorite find area's is the habit for the multiple finds to be L chondrites. Such as in Gold Basin and the Atacama desert, each place has been hunted very well and for a period ofseveral years. Probably a combination of factors working here: the use of metal detectors as the primary detection means coupled with the larger average sizeof L-chondrites vs. H-chondrites. (Plot of 1+ Antarctic ordinary chondrites' mass histogram sent to Mark). If you look at the statistics for Lucerne Valley, Harper, Superior Valley, Silver and Cuddeback, you'll see that H's and L's are about evenly distributed, with H's slightly favored. --Rob
