BLM Resources for Rockhounds

BLM Resources for Rockhounds

BLM Resources for Rockhounds
San Diego Gem and Mineral Society
http://www.sdmg.org/sdmg-public/resources/blm-resources/

Rockhounds could hit rock bottom in 2018
by Lisbet Thoresen, The Pegmatite - December 2017 Page 13
http://www.sdmg.org/articles/201712/201712_Rockhounds_could_hit_rock_bottom_in_2018.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.

Worst Misidentification Ever- FAKE! China's unique natural impact glass

Worst Misidentification Ever- FAKE China's unique natural impact glass

In " worst misidentification ever,"
Alfredo Petrov wrote on Tue, 23 Jan 2018,
This has got to be the worst, and funniest, in a schadenfreude sort of way, hoped-to-be-a-meteorite ever:
https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/gurugram-residents-store-poop-falling-from-aircraft-in-fridge-thinking-that-it-s-a-rare-mineral-338089.html

I am nominating for second or third worst misidentification of some obviously man-made glass as a Chinese impactite, the "Shui jing glass" featured in the below YouTube videos.

Exploring the mysteries of China's unique natural glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmzTXfwf9yA

Hongshan Culture & the mystery of China's unique natural glass 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM6s9mWh7Xw

Hongshan Culture & the mystery of China's unique natural glass 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2CYggCtfFM

This material reminds me of the tables covered with varicolored glass blocks that I saw out in front of Arkansas rocks shops when I went fossil and rock collecting decades ago.

There is the below abstract:

A crackpot ejection theory about China's unique natural glass
Endocrine Abstracts (2015) 38 SE1.4 DOI:10.1530/endoabs.38.SE1.4
(Society for Endocrinology, British Endocrine Societies)
http://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0038/ea0038SE1.4.htm

"I shall present evidence from the carvings that points to a unique post-impact lateral ejection of molten glass; and that this was later carved by grinding using impact diamond sand."

Yours,

Paul H.

Field Work Problem? - Rodents are Chewing up Car Wires

Field Work Problem? - Rodents are Chewing up Car Wires

This might seem off-topic, but it might apply to vehicles used in the field for meteorite hunting.

Why Rodents are Chewing up Car Wires and What You Can Do to Prevent it.
https://www.wheels.ca/news/rodent-damage/

Every farmer knows that vermin nesting in a warm engine bay is yesterday’s news. What is troubling is the growing volume of online stories about rodents chewing up expensive wiring looms that keep Audis, Hondas, Toyotas and Volvos running.

Yours,

Paul H.

Astronomers Explain why They don't Publish

Astronomers Explain why They don't Publish

Below are a couple of articles about how science works / doesn't work.

'Still working': Astronomers explain why they don't
publish. By Daniel Clery, Science News, Feb. 14, 201

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/still-working-astronomers-explain-why-they-don-t-publish

Meet the 'data thugs' out to expose shoddy and
questionable research By Adam Marcus, Ivan Oransky,
Retraction Watch, Science News, Feb. 14, 2018
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/meet-data-thugs-out-expose-shoddy-and-questionable-research

Yours,

Paul H.

Neutron-Star Collision Reveals Origin of Gold (Great Video)

Neutron-Star Collision Reveals Origin of Gold (Great Video)

Neutron star collisions may have created most of the gold in the universe All that glitters is a neutron star collision.
By Mary Beth Griggs, Popular Science, October 18, 2017
https://www.popsci.com/neutron-star-gold

Neutron-Star Collision Reveals Origin of Gold, Astronomers Say
By Jesse Emspak, Live Science, October 17, 2017
https://www.livescience.com/60701-ligo-neutron-stars-heavy-metals-gold.html

Colliding Neutron Stars, Gravity Waves, and the Origin of the Heavy Elements, Jan. 24, 2018, video
Dr. Eliot Quataert (University of California, Berkeley)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6qWhOtRxtU

Yours,

Paul H.

Machine Learning Framework for Prioritizing NEO Asteroid Deflection

Machine Learning Framework for Prioritizing NEO Asteroid Deflection

Nesvold, E.R., Greenberg, A., Erasmus, N., Van Heerden, E., Galache, J.L., Dahlstrom, E. and Marchis, F., 2018. The Deflector Selector: A Machine Learning Framework for Prioritizing Hazardous Object Deflection Technology Development. arXiv preprint arXiv:1802.00458.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.00458

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1802.00458.pdf

The Deflector Selector: A Machine Learning Framework for Prioritizing Deflection Technology Development, 2016
http://adsabs.harvard.edu//abs/2016DPS....4832911V

Yours,

Paul H.

Sea-surface and Air Temperatures Started Cooling Before Start of Younger Dryas

Sea-surface and Air Temperatures Started Cooling Before Start of Younger Dryas

I assume that everyone has heard about the new "Journal of geology" papers as at Burn Paper
A new day at the Cosmic Tusk
https://cosmictusk.com/9483-2/

As far as the start of the Younger Dryas and the uncertainties of science are concerned, there is:

Levac, E., Sandercombe, S. and Chmura, G.L., 2018.
The Younger Dryas in palynological records from the northern Northwest Atlantic: Does the terrestrial record lag the marine and air records?.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 490, pp.269-279.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018217307514

"Sea-surface and air temperatures started cooling 250 and 110 years before the start of the YD, hence there is a 140 years delay between ocean and atmosphere."

and

"Vegetation reversals in N. America do not represent the start of cool conditions."

How can an impact, no matter how powerful, have started cooling Earth centuries before it happened?

This and a lot of other fine-grained inconsistencies constantly give me heretical doubts about what should be a quite appealing and simple explanation of puzzling Quaternary events.

Other papers with similar details is:

Emery-Wetherell, M.M., McHorse, B.K. and Byrd Davis, E., 2017. Spatially explicit analysis sheds new light on the Pleistocene megafaunal extinction in North America. Paleobiology, 43(4), pp. 642-655.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319333874_Spatially_explicit_analysis_sheds_new_light_on_the_Pleistocene_megafaunal_extinction_in_North_America

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Meaghan_Wetherell

Woodman, N. and Athfield, N.B., 2009. Post-Clovis survival of American mastodon in the southern Great Lakes region of North America. Quaternary Research, 72(3), pp. 59-363.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/625/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248574797_Post-Clovis_survival_of_American_Mastodon_in_the_southern_Great_Lakes_Region_of_North_America

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Neal_Woodman


Widga, C., Lengyel, S.N., Saunders, J., Hodgins, G., Walker, J.D. and Wanamaker, A.D., 2017. Late Pleistocene proboscidean population dynamics in the North American Midcontinent. Boreas, 46(4), pp. 772-782.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313800551_Late_Pleistocene_proboscidean_population_dynamics_in_the_North_American_Midcontinent

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chris_Widga

Besides, correlation does not imply causation.

Yours

Paul H.

Seafloor Data Point to Global Volcanism after Chicxulub Impact

Seafloor Data Point to Global Volcanism after Chicxulub Impact

The dinosaur-murdering asteroid maybe also triggered an underwater volcano meltdown. Why pick just one flavor of apocalypse? By Rachel Becker, The Verge, Feb 7, 2018
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/7/16988112/asteroid-chicxulub-mass-extinction-dinosaurs-underwater-volcanoes-magma

Seafloor data point to global volcanism after Chicxulub meteor strike, University of Oregon, February 7, 2018
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/uoo-sdp020518.php

https://around.uoregon.edu/content/one-two-punch-may-have-helped-deck-dinosaurs

The paper is;

Joseph S. Byrnes and Leif Karlstrom, 2018, Anomalous K-Pg-aged seafloor attributed to impact-induced mid-ocean ridge magmatism Science Advances 07 Feb 2018:
Vol. 4, no. 2, eaao2994 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao2994
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaao2994

Yours,

Paul H

More (Space) Junk Falling From Sky: Peru

More (Space) Junk Falling From Sky: Peru

Meteorites are not the only stuff falling from space.

Peru: Russian inscriptions found on metal spheres that dropped from sky
http://www.andina.com.pe/ingles/noticia-peru-russian-inscriptions-found-on-metal-spheres-that-dropped-from-sky-697964.aspx

Yours,

Paul H.

Talks about Asteroids and Why SuperEarths are not Earthlike and Earth is Special 28JAN2018

 Talks about Asteroids and Why SuperEarths are not Earthlike and Earth is Special

Hi,

There are a lot meteorite and extraterrestrial videos
from the SETI Institute web page. several include
meteorites and asteroids. They included.

Late, Late Heavy Bombardment - Bill Bottke (SETI Talks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MMYTzb0L_s

Late Heavy Bombardment - Don Lowe (SETI Talks)
SETI InstitutePublished on Aug 3, 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAMm_0t5kcM

1I/‘Oumuamua, The First known Interstellar Visitor -
Matija Cuk & Meg Schwamb (SETI Talks 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vAcv7JGhQ

Sutters Mill Meteorite Fall - Peter Jenniskens (SETI Talks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vAcv7JGhQ&list=PLw6IJozmaWbTLecGQVT69kwKQUzNI7ET-

SETI Talks archive - http://seti.org/talks
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7B4FE6C62DCB34E1

Despite the problems with sound quality, I
learned a lot from:

Why SuperEarths are not Earthlike (And Earth is Special)
David Stevenson (SETITalks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8ieGwpWeRg

Yours,

Paul H.

Search is on for meteorite in metro Detroit 19JAN2018

 Search is on for meteorite in metro Detroit

Fake meteorites abound as hut for fragments intensifies

WXYZ-TV Detroit, Channel 7, January 18, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPbc6XnnBYY

"Fake meteorites are turning up as people search for the

real deal following the recent spotting of a meteor in

the skies over Michigan."

Michigan Meteor: How do you know if you've found a meteorite?

WXYZ-TV Detroit,  Channel 7, January 17, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-7Ja90d0_Y

Search is on for meteorite in metro Detroit

WXYZ-TV Detroit,  Channel 7, January 17, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWYbhLDcxiA

"People are out in Macomb Township on Wednesday

afternoon in hopes to find meteorites from the meteor

that blew up over the skies of Michigan on Tuesday

night."

Hunting for meteorites on Michigan soil

WXYZ-TV Detroit,  Channel 7, January 17, 2018

Published on Jan 17, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrnzFtGSgp8

Yours,

Paul H.

Meteorites Found in Hamburg Township, Michigan 19JAN2018

 Meteorites Found in Hamburg Township, Michigan

Meteorite hunter finds 3 rocks from Michigan meteor in Hamburg Township

Laura Colvin and Hasan Dudar, Detroit Free Press, January 18, 2018 |

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/01/18/michigan-meteor-meteorite-whitmore-lake/1044529001/

Yours,

Paul H.

Seismic Event w/ Bolide? 18JAN2018

 Seismic Event w/ Bolide?

Greg Redfern wrote:

 

"Has there been other bolide events that have had a

seismic correlation? It is being reported that USGS

recorded a 2.0 magnitude seismic event with this

morning's Michigan et al bolide event."

 

The USGS record is "M 2.0 Meteorite - 8km WSW of New

Haven, Michigan, 2018-01-17 01:09:50 UTC 42.700°N  

82.900°W 0.0 km depth.

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us2000ck7p#region-info

 

Some articles are:

Watch the amazing moment a ‘rare’ meteor burst across the

night sky over Michigan By Lindsey Bever, Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/01/17/watch-the-amazing-moment-a-rare-meteor-burst-across-the-night-sky-over-michigan/

 

NASA: Meteor bits 'likely' on Mich. soil by Mark Hicks,

The Detroit News, Jan. 16, 2018

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/01/16/metro-detroit-flash-boom/109525280/

 

Yours,

 

Paul H.

Cretaceous-Paleogene (and Fossils) Boundary in West Texas 11JAN2018

 Cretaceous-Paleogene (and Fossils) Boundary in West Texas

Hi,

A couple of interesting theses about the Cretaceous-Paleogene

Boundary in West Texas can be found online. They are:

Cobb, J.D., 2016. Sedimentology of the Cretaceous-Paleogene

Boundary Interval in the Tornillo Group of West Texas

(Master's Thesis) Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.

https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/68055

Straight, W.H., 1996. Stratigraphy and paleontology of

the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, Big Bend National Park,

Texas (Master's Thesis) Texas Tech University,

Lubbock, Texas.

https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/12928

Yours,

Paul H.

New clues about Earth’s most elusive impact crater

New clues about Earth’s most elusive impact crater

Cavosie, A.J., N.E. Timms, T.M. Erickson, and C. Koeberl, 2017,
New clues from Earth’s most elusive impact crater: Evidence
of reidite in Australasian tektites from Thailand. Geology
Published: December 20, 2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/G39711.1
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/525531/new-clues-from-earth-s-most-elusive-impact-crater?

" Here we report new evidence of a rare high-pressure
phase in Australasian tektites that further constrains
the location of the source crater. The former presence
of reidite, a high-pressure polymorph of zircon, was
detected in granular zircon grains within Muong
Nong–type tektites from Thailand."

"The data presented here place further constraints on the
distribution of high-pressure phases in Australasian tektites,
including coesite and now reidite, to an area centered over
Southeast Asia, which appears to be the most likely location
of the source crater."

Yours,

Paul H.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone from Louisiana.
Yours,
Paul H.

Did Meteorites Help Start Life ?

Did Meteorites Help Start Life ?

Evidence suggests life on Earth started after meteorites splashed into warm little ponds, PhysOrg, October 2, 2017
https://phys.org/news/2017-10-evidence-life-earth-meteorites-splashed.html

How did Life Start? Meteorites crashing into Darwin's Little Warm Ponds May Have been Trigger, by Megham Bartels, Newsweek.
http://www.newsweek.com/2017/10/27/how-did-life-start-meteorites-crashing-darwins-warm-little-ponds-was-possible-675655.html

The paper is:

Pearce, B.K., Pudritz, R.E., Semenov, D.A. and Henning, T.K., 2017. Origin of the RNA world: The fate of nucleobases in warm little ponds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114 no. 43, pp. 11327-11332
http://www.pnas.org/content/114/43/11327 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1710.00434.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.

Handbook of Iron Meteorites (Electronic edition) By Vagn F. Buchwald, 1975 17DEC2017

 Handbook of Iron Meteorites (Electronic edition) By Vagn F. Buchwald, 1975

Handbook of Iron Meteorites: Their History,

Distribution, Composition and Structure

(Electronic edition) By Vagn F. Buchwald

https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10524/33750

https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10524/33751

https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10524/33752

https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10524/33753

Yours,

Paul H.

Whale-sized Asteroid Skimmed Past Earth Unnoticed 11DEC2017

 Whale-sized Asteroid Skimmed Past Earth Unnoticed

Asteroid 2017 VL2 flew past Earth at 0.31 LD,

a day before discovery, The Watchers, November 14, 2017

https://watchers.news/2017/11/14/asteroid-2017-vl2/

 

Whale-sized asteroid skimmed past Earth unnoticed

New Zealand Herald, Dec. 9, 2017

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11956637

Yours,

Paul H.

Photographs of Hibbens at Fairbank Mucks 10DEC2017

Photographs of Hibbens at Fairbank Mucks

Reply to-  E.P. Grondine post on  Fri, 08 Dec 2017

>Hi Paul -

>

>

https://1f9hwg1wionh254zdu2abfkg-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/cosmic-tusks-in-nature.pdf

----------------------------------------------------------

Paul H. reply to Grondine- "The full article is:

Hagstrum, J.T., Firestone, R.B., West, A., Weaver, J.C. and

Bunch, T.E., 2017. Impact-related microspherules in Late

Pleistocene Alaskan and Yukon “muck” deposits signify

recurrent episodes of catastrophic emplacement. Scientific

Reports, 7, no. 16620.

It is wonderful to see that this topic is being argued in the

scientific literature instead of in popular books full of factual

errors about the Spokane Floods, loess, and megafloods

along with fictional claims about Atlantis.

>With the recovery of these photographs, Hibbens' wife's

>diary, and Geist's fossils, will you now consider retracting

>all of your comments on Hibbens'  and his research?

No. the pictures and diary are still, by modern standards,

horribly poor and inadequate documentation of his ideas,

which was part of the times. Except for the spherules,

Hagstrum et al. (2017) make a number of assertions that

not backed up by any detailed taphonomic analysis of the

animal and plant remains and sedimentologic analysis of

the muck.

I hope this paper encourages someone to do so and test

their (Hibben's) hypothesis in due time and publish the

results in print. Unfortunately, I am working on other

stuff and will not have the time in the near future to be

that person.

There is an interesting blog about this paper at:

Comet Research Group Publishes New Article Reviving

Catastrophist Claims about Frozen Mammoths in Alaskan Muck

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/comet-research-group-publishes-new-article-reviving-catastrophist-claims-about-frozen-mammoths-in-alaskan-muck

Yours,

Paul H.