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Meteorite concentrations in Antarctica: Sites of Katabatic Wind Ablation?
Author(s) -
Cresswell Richard G.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl015i004p00342
Subject(s) - katabatic wind , geology , sublimation (psychology) , prevailing winds , meteorite , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , astrobiology , oceanography , geography , psychology , physics , psychotherapist
Blue ice fields on Antarctica have yielded over 10,000 fragments of extraterrestrial material, yet the mechanism for these concentrations remains enigmatic. Focus has been placed on the role of glaciological processes; I here propose that meteorological processes are also significant. Katabatic winds possess the necessary attributes to account for substantial sublimation of the ice in very localized zones. Recent studies indicate that these winds have distinct confluences along the coastal slopes of the Antarctic plateau. A tentative correlation of these with meteorite accumulations is suggested (Figure 1), though more year‐round surveillance of the local wind regimes is required before a working hypothesis can be proposed.