Hi
Dean and List,
Dean,
thanks for posting the images of the CR2 strewnfield location near
Zagora.
It's
nice to have an idea of what the general ground conditions are like
there.
>
As
you can see this is a very easy to search over strewnfield. No vegetation
> or anything to make searching difficult.
Well,
I'm not sure I completely agree with that. One thing that's obvious
in these images is
that
there are a LOT of rocks. Depending on how distinctive the
CR2 meteorites are relative
to the
indigenous rocks, you could have a helluva time thoroughly searching such
a
region. I realize hundreds of people have been
over and over this area, but probably in a
random
fashion rather than systematically. Without a GPS unit to keep track of
your
progress (or barring this, perhaps marking searched
areas with stakes or rock cairns),
holes
will always remain in the collective search pattern. In any case, I'm
betting 10%
or more of the TKW is still out there (in
dozens if not hundreds of small pieces). This is
not a
reflection on the expertise or thoroughness of the locals searching the area,
but
rather
a recognition of how difficult it is to canvass this type of an
area.
Is it
worth the time and expense to continue harvesting this
strewnfield? For the locals:
probably so. For a meteorite hunter who has to
pay for travel expenses from North
America? Doubtful. You'd probably
need to find/buy 100 grams or more just to
break
even. Dean: did you find any fragments yourself? How much time (if
any) did
you
spend looking?
--Rob
