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Re: great disappearing meteorite fall acts
Hi Ron,
Good comments and a neat elaboration. Much of what is out there is thought to
be carbonaceous. When the meteorite or cometary pieces get very small,
different physics is at work. They are more easily slowed in the tenuous upper
reaches of the atmosphere than our gram or kilogram sized meteorites, and this
is a more gentle process. They have a large surface area to volume ratio so
they can radiate energy well. The very tiny dust-like particles do make it to
settle in our atmosphere.
Ron Baalke wrote:
> >Following a little further on the fragmentation discussion suggested by
> >Lewis' book, he estimates a 0.1 to 10 bar crushing strength for CI
> >carbonaceous chondrites. This is one of the reasons we have so few
> >samples.
>
> Yes, the carbonaceous chondrites are a fragile bunch, and they don't
> tend to make large meteorite falls. However, when you look at carbonaceous
> chondrites at the other end of the scale, down to the dust size
> particles and smaller, they are surprisingly robust. In a conversation
> with Don Brownlee, Brownlee had noted that the meteorite particles
> recovered from the ocean floors are overwhelmingly carbonaceous chondrites.
> Also, if you will recall, the small meteorite fleck found in the K/T layer
> from the floor of the Pacific Ocean was identified as a carbonaceous
> chondrite.
>
> Ron Baalke
>
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