Placers of Cosmic Dust in the Blue Ice Lakes of Greenland

A concentration process occurring in the melt zone of the Greenland ice cap has produced the richest known deposit of cosmic dust on the surface of the earth. Extraterrestrial particles collected from this region are well preserved and are collectable in large quantities. The collected particles are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Maurette, M., Hammer, C., Reeh, N., Brownlee, D. E., Thomsen, H. H.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1986
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.233.4766.869
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.233.4766.869
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Summary:A concentration process occurring in the melt zone of the Greenland ice cap has produced the richest known deposit of cosmic dust on the surface of the earth. Extraterrestrial particles collected from this region are well preserved and are collectable in large quantities. The collected particles are generally identical to cosmic spheres found on the ocean floor, but a pure glass type was discovered that has not been seen in deep-sea samples. Iron-rich spheres are conspicuously rare in the collected material.