Does a terrestrial ice signature in these "megacryometeors" necessarily preclude an "extraterrestrial" source? From the half-baked lunchtime musings department: Could the source of these objects be gradually rentering ice fragments ejected to earth orbit from a major impact to a deeply glaciated area during one of the last ice ages?
(I have no idea if glacial ice -- even in large pieces -- could survive the dynamics of such a departure or reentry, but I thought I'd pose the question anyway. Be gentle.) Mark > > > http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-ice11.html > > Scientists scan sky for mysterious 'big ice meteors' > BY MICHAEL WOODS > Scripps Howard News Service > December 11, 2003 > > BARCELONA, Spain -- A scientific team is monitoring ice events in the > United States this winter following research on a baffling phenomenon first > detected in Spain. > > The Spanish-American team is investigating incidents involving > ''megacryometeors,'' great balls of ice that fall out of the clear blue sky, > possibly because of global warming. > > ''I'm not worried that a block of ice may fall on your head,'' said Jesus > Martinez-Frias of the Center for Astrobiology, in Madrid. ''I'm worried > that great blocks of ice are forming where they shouldn't exist.'' > > The term megacryometeors is coined from ''mega,'' which means ''big,'' ''cryo'' > for ''ice'' and ''meteor.'' > > Most weigh 25 to 35 pounds, but one whopper found in Brazil tipped the scales > at 440 pounds. > > Incidents like those may be just the beginning, according to David Travis, who > researches atmospheric conditions that foster megacryometeor formation. He > chairs the department of geography and geology at the University of > Wisconsin-Whitewater. > > ''If megacryometeor formation is linked to global warming, as we suspect, then > it is fair to assume that these events may increase in the future,'' Travis said. > > Martinez-Frias pioneered research on megacryometeors in January 2000, after ice > chunks weighing up to 6.6 pounds fell from cloudless skies onto Spain for 10 days. > A government scientific research agency thought the ice might be from a comet, and > asked him to investigate. > > The notion of plummeting ice balls defies more than a century of research on hail > formation. > > ''Scientists are naturally reluctant to say something never can happen,'' said > Charles Knight, a hail expert at the University Corporation for Atmospheric > Research in Boulder, Colo. ''But oh, dear. I would be tempted to say 'never' > on this.'' > > Knight said he has reviewed papers published on megacryometeors, and thinks the > explanation, which involves atmospheric conditions possibly linked to global > warming, is wrong. > > > ______________________________________________ > Meteorite-list mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > -- CoreComm Webmail. http://home.core.com ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
