New Book Published on 35 Seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites

Ten chapters written by 18 leaders in the subject of Antarctic meteorites bring the stories to life of the efforts to collect, curate, and analyze these precious samples of extraterrestrial material. The 320-page book, co-published by the American Geophysical Union and John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is edited by Kevin Righter (NASA Johnson Space Center–Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science), Catherine Corrigan and Timothy McCoy (Smithsonian Institution–Department of Mineral Sciences, Division of Meteorites), and Ralph Harvey (Case Western Reserve University–Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences).

Now a NASA-funded effort, the Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program (ANSMET) was previously a cooperative effort among the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF-Office of Polar Programs), NASA, and the Smithsonian Institution. ANSMET continues to answer the strong scientific demand for new meteorites by recovering specimens annually from areas along the Transantarctic Mountains for classification and storage at NASA and the Smithsonian Institution and for allocations to qualified researchers worldwide.

In addition to the comprehensive chapters, the book contains 80 color plates showcasing the meteorite samples that stimulate new research and enlighten our understanding of the materials of the Solar System.

35 Seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites (1976–2010): A Pictorial Guide to the Collection contains these chapters:

1. The Origin and Early History of the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program (ANSMET) by Ursula B. Marvin


2. Fieldwork Methods of the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program by Ralph P. Harvey, John Schutt, and Jim Karner


3. Curation and Allocation of Samples int he U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection by Kevin Righter, Cecilia E. Satterwhite, Kathleen M. McBride, Catherine M. Corrigan, and Linda C. Welzenbach


4. Primitive Asteroids: Expanding the Range of Known Primitive Materials by Michael K. Weisberg and Kevin Righter


5. Achondrites and Irons: Products of Magmatism on Strongly Heated Asteroids by David W. Mittlefehldt and Timothy J. McCoy


6. ANSMET Meteorites from the Moon by Randy L. Korotev and Ryan A. Zeigler


7. Meteorites from Mars, via Antarctica by Harry Y. McSween, Jr., Ralph P. Harvey, and Catherine M. Corrigan


8. Meteorite Misfits: Fuzzy Clues to Solar System Processes by Timothy J. McCoy


9. Cosmogenic Nuclides in Antarctic Meteorites by Gregory F. Herzog, Marc W. Caffee, and A. J. Timothy Jull


10. A Statistical Look at the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection by Catherine M. Corrigan, Linda C. Welzenbach, Kevin Righter, Kathleen M. McBride, Timothy J. McCoy, Ralph P. Harvey, and Cecilia E. Satterwhite

 (pdf version)

Resources:
·   ANSMET website, information about the program and field seasons.
·   Book—table of contents and information from the publisher.
·   Meteoritical Bulletin database alphabetical-search-results for meteorites from Antarctica.
·   See also PSRD articles: Meteorites on Ice and Searching Antarctic Ice for Meteorites.

Written by Linda Martel, Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, for PSRD.