| Description |
Meteor-wrongs are terrestrial rock samples that are mistakenly recovered as meteorites by the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET). With no additional information on the mineral composition/rock type of the meteor-wrongs, our goal was to analyze these samples to attain a comprehensive understanding of their composition, ultimately identifying them with an appropriate rock/mineral name. In this study we focused on five meteor-wrongs collected specifically from the Dominion Range Icefields (DOM). A variety of physical, optical, and chemical analyses were utilized, including methodologies such as electron microprobe analysis and petrographic microscopy. These methods were used to obtain the necessary data to classify the DOM meteor-wrongs. Our initial hypothesis was that the meteor-wrongs would be weathered Ferrar Dolerites or Kirkpatrick Basalts (i.e. common Antarctic terrestrial rocks) due to shared similarities. Nevertheless, our final results disproved our hypothesis. Upon concluding our analysis of the geochemical properties and characteristics of the samples, our interpretations showed that three of the five DOM meteor-wrongs exhibit traits consistent with rhyolites, while one sample is heavily altered and contains abundant magnetite. The last sample is most likely carbon-rich, possibly the mineral graphite or the rock coal. |
