In pictures: Hunting for meteorites at the bottom of the world
Two ASU professors returned recently from collecting meteorites in Antarctica. Meenakshi Wadhwa and Tom Sharp were part of an eight-person team that took 25,000 pounds of gear – including tents, snow mobiles, meteorite collection equipment, solar panels, fuel, cooking stoves and food – for six weeks of remote field camping. Here, Wadhwa stands at the team's campsite located at Mount Bumstead.
Professor Meenakshi Wadhwa gets up close to a small treasure. This was the first meteorite found this season. The charred black crust of meteorite stands out starkly in the white snow.
Each collected specimen's position was recorded with GPS coordinates and a temporary flag. It was photographed and then picked up with sterilized stainless steel tools and then bagged.
The researchers search for meteorites on Christmas Day. To search for meteorites, the systematic search team lined up about 20 meters apart (about 65 feet) on snowmobiles. Each member of the team carefully searches his or her lane for rocks with the distinctive shapes and black fusion crusts of meteorites. Scientists on skidoos bagged more than 300 meteorites during the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET)'s 2012-2013 field season. The Transantarctic Mountains are visible in the background.
Meteorite hunters catch their breath and relax on an ice formation on top of Larkman Nunatak on a beautiful cloudless day in December (Dec. 28). From left to right: Stan Love, Meenakshi Wadhwa, Rob Coker, Marianne Mader and Tom Sharp.
The systematic search team stands in front of a large achondrite meteorite found in a moraine at Larkman Nunatak. Bottom row (left to right): Meenakshi Wadhwa, Shawn Norman, Jim Karner and Stan Love. Top row (left to right): Andrew Beck, Marianne Mader, Tom Sharp and Rob Coker.
Tom Sharp relaxes on a sunny warm New Year's Eve after returning from the field. Without wind, it is comfortable to sit outside in a light jacket and no gloves.
The researchers canvassed the ice fields near the Grosvenor Mountains, about 500 miles south from McMurdo Station. In total, this year's ANSMET team collected 425 meteorites in 40 days, with a total weight of 165 pounds (75 kg).
The team searches for meteorites near Larkman Nunatak, a large mountain poking its head above the thick layer of continental glacier that covers most of Antarctica. The blue ice is not flat, but rather looks like a rough sea, frozen in place with meter-scale waves and huge swells.
Team members Marianne Mader, Stan Love, Meenakshi Wadhwa and Tom Sharp pose together at the South Pole.