New Atacama Desert Meteorite Stewnfields Paper Published

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Thu Aug 30 09:10:41 EDT 2007

Dear Friends,

There is an interesting peer-reviewed paper in the October issue
of the "Journal of Arid Environments", which provides a detailed
analysis of 62 non-paired meteorites found in the Atacama Desert
of Chile. The paper is:

Munoza, C., N. Guerraa, J. Martinez-Friasb, Author, R. Lunarc
and J. Cerdaa, 2007, The Atacama Desert: A preferential arid region
for the recovery of meteorites—Find location features and strewnfield
distribution patterns. Journal of Arid Environments. vol. 71, no. 2,
pp. 188-200.

Among other analyses, they mapped the principle strewnfield
distribution patterns and summarized the general nature of their
character. They found that these finds typically:

(1) showed more than a quarter of their body exposed;

(2) underwent some sign of terrestrial weathering;

(3) stone meteorites have a brownish desert-varnish on hand specimen;

(4) are non-oriented pieces;

and (5) are commonly members of a greater mass distributed in a
certain place.

The Atacama Central Depression was where the most meteorites
were found and the distribution of saline deposits influenced the
weathering and preservation of meteorites.

Best Regards,

Paul H.