[meteorite-list] Pairing discussion/questions

[Jeff Grossman]

I can now report with some authority that the total cost of 30+ years 
of collecting by ANSMET has been in the range of $20 
million.  Considering the record of scientific achievements that has 
been built on this collection of 20,000 specimens, I would have to 
say it has been a bargain.

Jeff

>>Make your homework. How many different meteorites do we have from 
>>Antarctica after a third of a century hunting and spending billions 
>>of USD? 7000.
>This statement, appearing in some of the recent emails, is 
>wrong.  There are over 16,000 classified meteorites from the ANSMET 
>expeditions, plus a few thousand unclassified.  Counting the 
>Japanese, Chinese,European,
>Korean, and minor collections, There ~27,000 classified Antarctic 
>meteorites, and probably close to 20,000 not yet classified (mostly 
>in the Japanese and Chinese collections).  And where in the world 
>did this figure of billions of dollars being spent by the US to 
>collect its 20,000 meteorites come from?
>
>Also, don't overlook the fact that Antarctic meteorite have proven 
>to be vastly more valuable scientifically than NWA meteorites.  They 
>probably occur as subjects of scientific publications at >10x the 
>frequency as NWA meteorites (I posted statistics on this some years 
>ago, but can't locate it at the moment).  This is because the main 
>masses are well curated.
>
>Jeff


Dr. Jeffrey N. Grossman       phone: (703) 648-6184
US Geological Survey          fax:   (703) 648-6383
954 National Center
Reston, VA 20192, USA