Antarctic Meteorite

Antarctic meteorite, any of a large group of meteorites that have been collected in Antarctica, first by Japanese expeditions and subsequently by U.S. and European teams since the discovery of meteorite concentrations there in 1969. Although meteorites fall more or less uniformly over Earth’s surface, many that fall in Antarctica are frozen into its ice sheets, which slowly flow from the centre of the continent toward its edges. In some places, patches of ice become stranded behind mountain peaks and are forced to flow upward. These stagnant patches are eroded by strong winds, thereby exposing and concentrating meteorites on the ice surface. Such areas, called blue ice for their colour, have over just a few decades provided more than 35,000 individual meteorites ranging in size from thumbnail to basketball. Although many meteorites are paired (parts of the same original fall), the Antarctic collection still represents several thousand new samples, which is comparable to the total number of catalogued meteorites that were collected elsewhere over the past several centuries.

Because large concentrations of Antarctic meteorites occur within small areas, the traditional geographic naming system used for meteorites is not applicable. Rather, they are identified by an abbreviated name of some local landmark plus a number that identifies the year of recovery and the specific sample. For example, the meteorite ALHA81005 was found in the Allan Hills region in 1981 and is the fifth sample recovered.

Antarctic meteorites have provided additional specimens of poorly represented meteorite types and of a few types that were previously unknown. Meteorites from the Moon were first recognized in Antarctica, and most lunar and many Martian meteorites have been collected there. Antarctic meteorites have spent times on Earth that range from a few thousand to about a million years. They thus provide insight into the kinds and abundances of meteorites that fell to Earth before recorded history.