Lantarctica has a lot to offer when it comes to finding meteorites. The dark rocks stand out against the frozen landscape. Its dry climate minimizes weathering. And even when meteorites sink into the ice, they are often brought to the surface by the churning of glaciers. But, despite these excellent conditions, it is rare to find large pieces of space rock.
Header image: the 7 kg meteorite recovered in Antarctica. (Maria Valdes)
A group of researchers has just returned from the ice-covered continent with five new meteorites, including an unusually large specimen.
The largest find weighs 7.6 kilograms, placing it in the top 100 in terms of size of meteorites recovered from Antarctica over the past century. Considering that 45,000 were recovered during that time, that’s no small feat.
This large space rock is currently being taken back to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, where it will be studied closely along with the smaller rocks. Scientists have much to learn from the journey meteorites have made to our planet.
Selon the cosmochimiste maria valdesfrom the Field Museum (USA):
Size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to meteorites, and even tiny micrometeorites can have incredible scientific value. But of course, finding a big meteorite like this is rare, and really exciting.
While meteorites might be easier to spot in Antarctica, the continent isn’t exactly easy to traverse, with its freezing temperatures and remoteness. The team involved in this discovery spent several days camping in nature, traveling on foot and by snowmobile.
The snowy landscape of Antarctica where five meteorites, the largest of which weighed 7 kg, were recovered. (Maria Valdes)
It is also useful to know where meteorites are likely to be found. In this case, the researchers used a “treasure map” published last year, which uses clues found in satellite imagery, such as ice flow, temperature and slope measurements. surface, to make educated guesses with the help of artificial intelligence about where new rocks might be found.
According to geoscientist Vinciane Debaille, from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium:
Going on an adventure exploring unknown areas is exciting. But we also had to face the fact that the reality on the ground is much more difficult than the beauty of satellite images.
The map used by the researchers is said to be around 80% accurate in terms of the directions it gives, and its authors have calculated that more than 300,000 meteorites lie in Antarctica, waiting to be found.
Despite favorable conditions for finding meteorites in this frigidly pristine space, scientists believe there are still many missing, especially those with high iron content. This is partly because these types of meteorites heat up from sunlight, melting the surrounding ice and sinking below the surface out of sight.
However, today there is an exciting new batch of these rocks waiting to be examined more closely, and somewhere in these freshly recovered meteorites we should find traces of the history of the solar system in which we live.
The discovery presented on the Field Museum website: 17-pound meteorite discovered in Antarctica.