[meteorite-list] Misinformation in Meteorite Times Magazine/Nevada Picture of the day/ unreported Nevada meteorites

From: wahlperry at aol.com <wahlperry_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:43:14 -0400
Message-ID: <8C933A5D44BFFB8-1340-C945_at_webmail-db19.sysops.aol.com>

Hi Bob,

I have read your article in Meteorite Times and would like to correct
you.

http://meteorite-recovery.tripod.com/nvmetpod/nvmetpix.htm

Explanation:

>Up until this year, all of the Nevada meteorites that have appeared on
this monthly webpage were "REPORTED" finds. This means that each and
>every one of those finds have been reported to the Nomenclature
Committee of the Meteoritical Society. But in spite of all that has
been written >about the importance of reporting finds, more and more
finds are going "unreported". And what with even more and more Nevada
meteorites >being found each year, soon the "unreported" finds will OUT
NUMBER the reported finds. All it would take is for just one bureaucrat
to get wind of >this developing situation and we could see some
draconian measures put in place. Worst case scenario is that our hobby
gets banned.

>So instead of doing nothing, and just sit and let the worst case
scenario happen, I've decided to become more proactive. I'll continue
with this >webpage and let it try to lead by example.


The meteorite in the picture is one of my finds... which you already
knew. It is a new Nevada meteorite from one of the strewn fields that I
am currently working on. All of the meteorites that I recover are
documented. I have situ pictures, time and date found, number of
fragments and depth of mass, etc. The location is kept secret until all
of the fieldwork is done and possible pairing noted. All of the
information and meteorite samples will be shared with the University
doing the classification as well as any other interested Universities.

As for a time frame for new finds and provisional numbers I feel that
is up to the finder. I have discussed this topic with numerous
meteorite hunters and if they had to do it all over they would wait to
release any information.

I will only address a few of your points.

> All it would take is for just one bureaucrat to get wind of this
developing situation and we could see some draconian measures put in
place. >Worst case scenario is that our hobby gets banned.

To begin with I would like to know how this hobby would get banned by
delaying the release of information until a later date. Who sets the
time frame? Is there a process that must be followed for every
meteorite find?

>And I'll continue to try and educate by reaching out to the new
hobbyists. But, since some of these >unreported finds were made more
than 5 >years ago, it isn't simply a case of nouveau hunters being
uneducated on this subject. It's probably more >a case of
procrastination. But how long is >too much time spent procrastinating?
How much recovery information has already been lost for ever?

What you may think is procrastination I see as taking the time to do
good field work. The longer the finder keeps the information quiet the
better the chance of collecting all of the field data. By doing this he
or she has a complete set of records. What a better tool for interested
parties to study a new strewn field with complete accurate data.

>So starting this year, this "NevMetPOD" webpage will be depicting an
image each month of another nearly forgotten, but possibly already lost
for all >time, "unreported Nevada meteorite". You could think of it as
peer pressure, but it can also be considered as a reminder, with the
hope that >the "unreported" find will soon become the latest "reported"
Nevada meteorite.

>[Note: This web page will be revised when the finder has reported this
meteorite to the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society.
You >don't need to be a member of the Society in order to do this
reporting. In fact, the Committee prefers that the finders, themselves,
report each >of their Nevada meteorite finds. The minimum information
they require is 1) Date of find, 2) Mass of find, and 3) Location of
find. With this minimal >information you can then have a Provisional
Name and/or Number assigned to your find. Yes, that's right. Your find
doesn't need to be classified in >order to get a Provisional name. The
NomComm will keep this "information" and the Provisional Name strictly
confidential, even after your meteorite >is classified.]

My question. Is any of my meteorite recovery or field work any of your
business? Are you currently working for the Nomenclature Committee?
Would this be part of your job description to put pressure on a hunter
in a public Forum such as a monthly meteorite publication? How would
you know if there is or is not a provisional number or name assigned?
And if so, shouldn't that be STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL information?
 From now on you must have permission from me to use any of my
photographs in any of your work.

I CURRENTLY HAVE 3 NEW METEORITE DISCOVERIES COMING OUT IN THE NEXT
BULLETIN. TWO FINDS FROM NEVADA AND ONE FROM CALIFORNIA . ALL OF THESE
ARE FROM NEW LOCATIONS. Feel free to check them out.

I am currently working on numerous field study areas. All of this
information will be released to the public at a later date when I have
concluded my studies. If you would like to check out some of my work
you can view my webpage.
http://www.nevadameteorites.com/


Sonny
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Received on Tue 13 Mar 2007 12:43:14 PM PDT