[meteorite-list] Scientist Pores Through Fields in Search of Meteor Traces

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Nov 22 13:38:34 2004
Message-ID: <200411221838.KAA16436_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/article8851D359740046D5A848D11CC83DF0A5.asp
  
Scientist pores through fields in search of meteor traces
The Associated Press
November 21, 2004

WAYNESBORO - Hal Povenmire has devoted much of his life to searching for
small, glassy, olive-green beads that offer a look into Earth's cosmic past.
The Cape Canaveral, Fla., scientist said he's made more than 230 trips
to Georgia since 1970, each time poring through open fields in search of
those tiny meteorites, called tektites, that were left here about 35
million years ago.

"We find maybe one tektite for every 160 or 170 miles of walking,"
Povenmire said during yet another trip this week to Georgia, one of the
few places on the planet where tektites are found.

Scientists say the origins of Georgia's tektites remain somewhat of a
mystery.

One theory is that an asteroid crashed near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay,
hurling debris with such force that it flew into space and re-entered
the earth's atmosphere as liquid-hot meteorites.

Another theory says that Georgia's tektites came from volcanoes on the
moon that erupted with enough energy to force the lunar material into
the earth's atmosphere.

"There's been a lot of talk on both sides," said Povenmire, who has
worked NASA's space shuttle projects. "But I've always leaned toward
lunar ejecta.""

Tektites are found only in a few places on earth, including Africa's
Ivory Coast, Indochina, an isolated region in Czechoslovakia - and the
cornfields of middle Georgia. The tiny beads have been found in at least
18 counties here, with the highest density in Bleckley and Dodge counties.

"The tektites found in other places on earth are much more common,"
Povenmire said. "But the ones that come from here are the oldest, the
rarest and by far the least studied."

This week, Povenmire scoured some fields and roadbeds in Burke County
with his friend and tektite hunting partner Bobby Strange, but the men
came up empty-handed.

Povenmire said he often relies on tips from artifact collectors and rock
hounds who serve as eyes and ears for scientists seeking information.
Received on Mon 22 Nov 2004 01:38:28 PM PST