Status Note on Indian Attempts to Search for Meteorites in AntarcticaOPEN ACCESS
Ashit Kumar Swain
Journal of the Geological Society of India
Vol.97, August 2021, pp.915-922
Published: 07 August 2021
“The study of meteorites is gaining importance due to its importance in understanding the development of our solar system. Published data shows that out of a total of 57186 meteorites recovered from the earth, 42398 are from Antarctica. This huge contribution of Antarctic meteorites is unique to Antarctica, as it allows the preservation of meteorites and concentrates them in highly ablative stranding surfaces. These surface or meteorite traps are formed as a result of topographic obstacles to the flow of the Polar ice sheet. Large tracts of central Droning Maud Land (cDML) in East Antarctica are still unexplored for meteorites. For the benefit of the global scientific community, it is desirable to recover as many Antarctic meteorites as possible before sinking deeper into the ice as a result of the changing climate and eventually being lost to the sea. The meteorite search programme was launched in the 32nd Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. The primary objective of that investigation was to conduct a preliminary survey in the vicinity of the Somovken glacier flowing between the Humboldt and the Orvin mountain ranges for the prospect of finding meteorites. The search exercise was used to gain an understanding of the science of meteorites operating in Antarctica and the meteorite concentration mechanism. It was later complimented with the micrometeorite search programme in Antarctica.”
