[meteorite-list] K-T fossil meteorite picture

From: Mexicodoug <mexicodoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 16:01:26 -0400
Message-ID: <8CBA8660C696B38-B6C-795_at_webmail-de18.sysops.aol.com>

Dear Bernd, List,

Thanks for the interesting post on this curious case.

So everyone can enjoy this 0.25cm "fossil" "meteorite" which Kyte
classified as a "CV, CO, or CR carbonaceous chondrite", here is an
original image in color:
http://tinyurl.com/qf8u9w

The "meteorite" is also described as an unclassified hematite and clay
fragment from the core sample DSDP Hole 576 in the western North
Pacific (32? 21.4'N, 164? 16.5'E), 1000 miles WNW of Green Island of
the Hawaiian Islands and 1400 miles ESE of Tokyo).

The "meteorite" is not yet an official meteorite, relict or not (if it
is certain it is a meteorite - unknown to me why not :-)). Kyte's
office at UCLA has been between his colleagues Wasson and Rubin's and
he was a co-author with them though the publications appear all prior
to the "meteorite", so the answer to why not is probably easy to get.

The extremely high gold concentration in it (which at one point I
believe it was Koeberl said likely disqualified it as a "meteorite")
has not been explained other than by speculation:

http://tinyurl.com/qn3ssc

Kyte has classified the only meteorite from the Pacific Ocean, a 2.4
million year old mesosiderite officially named Eltanin, found 5km below
sea level in other core samples, which he interprets to be part of the
largest meteorite fall dropped, ever recovered on Earth. (TKW 1.2 Kg
mostly in sub centimeter sized weathered fragments).



Here are some very nice thin sections of the alleged relict meteorite
 from another picture in that original Nature Letter for list members'
perusal:
http://tinyurl.com/q4r89e

Source: Letters to Nature, Frank T. Kyte sent this in originally on 2
June 1998:
Kyte, F.T., Nature, "A meteorite from the Cretaceous/Tertiary
boundary", 19 November 1998, V. 396, pp. 237-239.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v396/n6708/full/396237a0.html

 From what I can gather, most scientists have called the K-T boundary
fragment "meteorite" Kyte's interpretation. It should be noted that
Kyte was co-author on several papers with Jan Smit and the two were
close colleagues during the magical period of the early 1980's after
Luis Alvarez did the then eye-opening K-T boundary work wit his son and
collaborators. While the Alvarez' didn't particularly care much for the
search for the crater, one collaborator, Jan Smit believes he was
instrumental in the discovery of the Chicxulub crater and vindication
of Alvarez' Dino extinction theory and fervently defends the work. Smit
doesn't acknowledge challenger Princeton's Gerta Keller's group's
interpretations which would suggest anything different on the grounds
of Occam's Razor, in that a single impact explains everything and any
mess is because there was turbulence afterwards shaking up everything,
something that Keller doesn't buy as an argument stopper. Keller
believes the extinction event is likely more complex, and has ap
plied
her version of chronostratigraphical study in great detail to the
layers, and supports the possibility of multiple impacts and other
terrestrial explanations. The latter two have become rivals and both
(especially Smit) display emotional disdain for the other's work. They
are both good scientists. What this "meteorite" fragment proves is
questionable in relation to the debate. Kyte also classifies a 3.8
billion year old impact on earth as a CV by looking at the chromium
content of ancient sediments.

Best wishes,
Doug






-----Original Message-----
From: bernd.pauli at paulinet.de
To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Thu, 21 May 2009 6:23 am
Subject: [meteorite-list] K-T fossil meteorite picture



Hello Sterling, List, and KT-Extinctionists,

"It's a "fossilized" meteorite, meaning it's seriously been altered
by the terrestrial environment, with replaced minerals and all
the rest. It was found some years ago. I've seen a photo of it,
but can't find that website today, but it is an encapsulated clast
that can only be identified as carbonaceous by the simple fact
that it's so rich in carbon."

You can find color pics of this fossilized, terrestrialized piece plus
some info in an article in the January 2000 issue of the National
Geographic in the department "Geographica" and there's another
article + color photo here:

Sky & Telescope, March 1999,
p. 22: Piece of a Killer Asteroid ?

The pictu
re description says:

"This 2.5-millimeter-wide fossil meteorite, embedded in the light brown
clay
 from the Pacific sea floor, may be the first known sample of the object
that
struck the Earth 65 million years ago, driving many species to
extinction.
Courtesy Frank T. Kyte."

I am going to send the pics to your personal email address!

Best from Germany,
Fathers' Day here :-)

Bernd



To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Cc: sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net

______________________________________________
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Thu 21 May 2009 04:01:26 PM PDT