The Prairie Meteorite Search has recently identified two new iron meteorite fragments from Manitoba. The new finds hail from near Bernic Lake close to the eastern border of the province.
The Bernic Lake meteorite is the 6th meteorite to be recovered in Manitoba, and is the third Manitoba find to be identified by the Prairie Meteorite Search. Meteorites are broadly classified as being either falls corresponding to meteorites that were seen to fall to Earth and finds which correspond to meteorites found serendipitously, but with unknown fall dates. The two fragments weighed-in at 5.5 and 4.3 kilograms apiece.
The meteorites were first discovered by local resident, Derek Erstelle, in scrubland located some half-hour drive northeast of Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba in the fall of 2002.
“I was surprised when I stumbled upon these two extra-heavy rocks about fifteen feet apart,” says Erstelle. “I initially suspected they were meteorites – they looked so out of place.”
The two fragments show distinctive surface weathering indicative of their having fallen hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Erstelle sent a small piece from one of the fragments away for analysis. It was the identification of nickel in the cut specimen, by Dr. Alan Hildebrand at the University of Calgary, which confirmed the meteorite find. Dr. Steven Kissin at Lakehead University later performed a detailed analysis of the iron and identified the meteorite as belonging to a group of iron meteorites known as IAB. The presence of two distinct fragments so close together suggests that many meteorites may have fallen in the area.
Dr. Martin Beech, associate professor of Astronomy at Campion College, University of Regina, was the first of the Prairie Meteorite Search researchers contacted concerning the potential new meteorites.
“After I visited the find location, it was clear to me that Mr. Erstelle must have a very good eye for picking out `odd' looking rocks - but being a self professed `rock hound' probably helped” says Beech.
“That the fragment found its way to me is a great indicator of the effectiveness of the Prairie Meteorite Search”, Beech noted, “even though we were not directly campaigning in that area, people knew who to contact for identification information. That's what we want with the search – a general communal knowledge of what to do if you think you've found a meteorite.”
The Prairie Meteorite Search is a national project run jointly by researchers at Campion College at the University of Regina, the University of Calgary and the University of Western Ontario. Its field campaign locates meteorites by encouraging prairie farmers to have rocks identified that they suspect may be meteorites. The project consists of local publicity and visits by the searcher to towns to show meteorite specimens and to identify possible meteorites. The project relies on people having seen meteorites and the possibility of immediate identification to make discoveries.
Leaders for the Prairie Meteorite Search
project are Dr. Alan Hildebrand, University of Calgary; Dr. Peter Brown, The
University of Western Ontario, and Dr. Martin Beech, Campion College at the
University of Regina. They are all members of the Meteorites and Impacts Advisory
Committee (MIAC) to the Canadian Space Agency, Canada's volunteer group charged
with the investigation of fireballs and the recovery of meteorites.
Press contact:
Joanne Kozlowski
Director of Communications,
Campion College at the University of Regina
(306) 359-1244
Mr. Derek Erstelle
(204) 633-1601
Dr. Martin Beech
Associate Professor of Astronomy,
Campion College at the University of Regina
(306) 359-1216
Additional contact information for the project is located at: http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/PMSearch/.