Meteorite stranding surfaces and the Greenland icesheet
Thirty years of recoveries in East Antarctica have led to significant understanding of the regional characteristics associated with meteorite stranding surfaces. In Antarctica these sites are characterized by patches of snow-free blue ice at high altitude on the icesheet in regions where iceflow is...
| Published in: | Meteoritics & Planetary Science |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/177078 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1945-5100.2001.tb01918.x |
| Summary: | Thirty years of recoveries in East Antarctica have led to significant understanding of the regional characteristics associated with meteorite stranding surfaces. In Antarctica these sites are characterized by patches of snow-free blue ice at high altitude on the icesheet in regions where iceflow is highly restricted. Melting is extremely rare or absent and sublimation rates are high, even though meteorite stranding surfaces are predominantly found within regions where accumulation typically dominates. Localized environmental conditions that persist for thousands of years or longer appear to be the dominant factor rather than shorter-term or seasonal cycles. In this paper we describe our discovery of regions in Northeast Greenland with blue ice areas that exhibit many of the requisite characteristics, suggesting that they are excellent prospects for future meteorite recovery efforts. |
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