Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to International Polar

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led these committees throughout the history of the program. Additionally, the Smithsonian provides selected samples of Antarctic meteorites for exhibits throughout the world, including meteorites on display at the Crary Science and Engineering Center in McMurdo Station, perhaps the southernmost display of Smithsonian objects. SCIENTIFIC VALUE OF ANTARCTIC METEORITES While the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Program has had a dramatic infl uence on the size of the Smithsonian meteorite collection, it is the information that these priceless samples hold that is of greatest benefi t. While listing the full range of scientifi c discoveries is beyond the scope of this paper, we list a few examples. Brian Mason and Smithsonian volcanologist Bill Melson published the fi rst book-length treatise on Apollo 11 samples in 1970 (Mason and Melson, 1970), and Mason remained involved in the study of lunar samples through the end of the Apollo Program. In 1982, Mason described the Antarctic meteorite ALH A81005 as containing clasts that “resemble the anorthositic clasts described from lunar rocks” (Mason, 1983). From his earlier work, Mason knew this was the fi rst lunar meteorite but presented his fi ndings in a typically understated manner so as not to undercut the considerable research that would be forthcoming. Today, we recognize more than three dozen distinct lunar meteorites. A remarkable feature of these meteorites is that they commonly exhibit very low abundances of the radioactive element thorium. In contrast, the area sampled by the Apollo missions on the equatorial near side of the Moon typically has elevated thorium concentrations indicative of the thin crust and extensive volcanism that occurred in that region. For this reason, lunar meteorites are thought to represent a much broader representative sampling of the lunar surface and are the subject of intense scrutiny as the U.S. plans for a return to the Moon (Korotev et al., 2003). The realization that lunar meteorites had been launched by impacts from the surface of the Moon and escaped the heating that many predicted would melt them completely reinvigorated debate about whether certain meteorites actually originated on Mars. This debate was largely settled in 1981, when Don Bogard and colleagues at Johnson Space Center showed that gases trapped inside impact melt pockets in the Antarctic meteorite EET A79001 matched those measured in the martian atmosphere by the Viking lander. These samples, now numbering several dozen, pro- U.S. ANTARCTIC METEORITE PROGRAM 393 vide the only materials from Mars that we have in our laboratories. Although they lack geologic context, study of these rocks has posed many of the questions driving Mars exploration. This was never more true than when McKay et al. (1996) argued that ALH 84001 contained evidence of past microbial life in the form of distinctive chemical, mineralogical, and morphological features. Although the result has been vigorously debated for over a decade, it is clear that this single paper reinvigorated NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. The founding of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and the launch of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which continue to operate after three years on the surface of Mars and on which the senior author is a team member, were spurred in part by the idea that ancient life may have existed on Mars. It is truly remarkable that a modest program of collecting meteorites— the poor man’s space probe— prompted the initiation of major research and spacecraft efforts! Among the signifi cant advances in meteoritics within the last decade, one of the most noteworthy is the recognition of meteorites that are intermediate between the primitive chondrites formed as sediments from the solar nebula and achondrites that sample differentiated bodies with cores, mantles, and crusts, like Earth. These meteorites, termed primitive achondrites, experienced only partial melting and differentiation, after which the process was halted. These meteorites may offer our best clues to how our own planet differentiated. While such meteorites have been known for more than a century, they were few in number and largely viewed as curiosities. The vast numbers of meteorites recovered from Antarctica have pushed these meteorites into prominence, as major groupings have emerged. Among these meteorites, one is truly remarkable. Graves Nunatak (GRA) 95209 contains metal veins that sample the earliest melting of an asteroid as it began to heat up more than 4.5 billion years ago ( McCoy et al., 2006). These veins record a complex history of melting, melt migration, oxidation-reduction reactions, intrusion into cooler regions, cooling, and crystallization. The single most remarkable feature of this meteorite is the presence of millimeter-size metal grains that contain up to a dozen graphite rosettes tens of micrometers in diameter. Within a single metal vein, carbon isotopic compositions (� 13 C) can range from �50 to �80‰. These graphite grains formed not in the parent asteroid during melting but during nebular reactions. This isotopic heterogeneity is even more remarkable when we consider that a single millimeter-sized metal grain within this meteorite has a greater carbon isotopic heterogeneity than all the natural materials on Earth. Despite extensive heating, this asteroid did not achieve a
394 SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES / MCCOY, WELZENBACH, AND CORRIGAN homogeneous carbon isotopic composition. In a very real way, this sample gives us a glimpse into the processes that occurred in the solar nebula during the birth of our solar system as well during the heating, melting, and differentiation of our Earth. CONCLUSIONS The meteorite collection and the insights provided by the infl ux of a tremendous number of Antarctic meteorites continue to enrich the Smithsonian collections and offer opportunities for research among its staff. Much of the current emphasis is in the burgeoning fi eld of astrobiology. Understanding the fate of carbon during the differentiation of planets forms another link in understanding this fundamental element from its birth in other stars to the role it plays today in biologic evolution. Scientists at the Smithsonian use these meteorites to ask fundamental questions that they then set about answering through participation in spacecraft missions to the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and comets. Rather than supplanting meteorites as a major source of information, samples returned from these bodies will make Antarctic meteorites more scientifi cally valuable as they continue to provide the framework as we continue to ask and answer the questions of our solar system’s birth, evolution, and destiny. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper reports the results of an effort shared by hundreds of individuals over three decades. These include the members of the meteorite search teams, the curatorial teams at Johnson Space Center and the Smithsonian Institution, the administrative support at NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Smithsonian, and the efforts of thousands of scientists who have studied Antarctic meteorites. Among these, Don Bogard (NASA Johnson Space Center), Ursula Marvin (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory), and Bill Cassidy (University of Pittsburgh) have given us insights over the years into the formative stages of the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Program. Our current partners in the curatorial and collection efforts Ralph Harvey (Case Western Reserve University), John Schutt (ANSMET), Kevin Righter (NASA Johnson Space Center), and Cecilia Satterwhite (Jacobs) have been particularly helpful, as have our colleagues at the Smithsonian, Brian Mason, Roy S. Clarke Jr., and the late Gene Jarosewich, who preceded us in these efforts and have been unfailingly supportive. We dedicate this paper to our colleague Gene Jarosewich, who never wavered in his enthusiasm for meteorites. LITERATURE CITED Antarctic Meteorite Working Group. 1978. Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter, No. 1(1). http:// www-curator .jsc .nasa .gov/ antmet/ amn/ previous_ newsletters/ ANTARTIC_ METERORITE_NEWSLETTER_ VOL_ 1_ NUMBER_ 1 .pdf (accessed 15 August 2008). Cassidy, W. A. 2003. Meteorites, Ice, and Antarctica: A Personal Account. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Folco, L., A. Capra, M. Chiappini, M. Frezzotti, M. Mellini, and I. E. Tabacco. 2002. The Frontier Mountain Meteorite Trap. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 37: 209– 228. Harvey, R. 2003. The Origin and Signifi cance of Antarctic Meteorites. Chemie der Erde, 63: 93– 147. Korotev, R. L., B. L. Jolliff, R. A. Zeigler, J. J. Gillis, and L. A. Haskin. 2003. Feldspathic Lunar Meteorites and Their Implications for Compositional Remote Sensing of the Lunar Surface and the Composition of the Lunar Crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 67: 4895– 4923. Lin, C.-Y., F. S. Zhang, H.-N. Wang, R.-C. Wang, and W.-L. Zhang. 2002. “Antarctic GRV9927: A New Member of SNC Meteorites.” Thirty-third Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 11– 15, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Tex. Mason, B. H. 1963. Olivine Composition in Chondrites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 27: 1011– 1023 ——— . 1983. Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter, No. 6 (1). http:// curator .jsc .nasa .gov/ antmet/ amn/ previous_ newsletters/ ANTARTIC_ METERORITE_ NEWSLETTER_ VOL_ 6_ NUMBER_ 1 .pdf (accessed 15 August 2008). Mason, B. H., and W. G. Melson. 1970. The Lunar Rocks. New York: Wiley-Interscience. McCoy, T. J., W. D. Carlson, L. R. Nittler, R. M. Stroud, D. D. Bogard, and D. H. Garrison. 2006. Graves Nunataks 95209: A Snapshot of Metal Segregation and Core Formation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70: 516– 531. McKay, D. S., E. K. Gibson, K. L. Thomas-Keprta, H. Vali, C. S. Romanek, S. J. Clemett, X. D. F. Chiller, C. R. Maechling, and R. N. Zare. 1996. Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001. Science, 273: 924– 930. National Science Foundation. 2003. U.S. Regulations Governing Antarctic Meteorites. 45 CFR Part 674. http:// www .nsf .gov/ od/ opp/ antarct/ meteorite_ regs .jsp (accessed 15 August 2008). Satterwhite, C., and K. Righter, eds. 2006. Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter. http:// curator .jsc .nasa .gov/ antmet/ amn/ amn .cfm (accessed 15 August 2008). Shima, M., and M. Shima. 1973. Mineralogical and Chemical Composition of New Antarctica Meteorites. Meteoritics, 8: 439– 440. Welten, K. C., C. Alderliesten, K. Van der Borg, L. Lindner, T. Loeken, and L. Schultz. 1997. Lewis Cliff 86360: An Antarctic L-chondrite with a terrestrial age of 2.35 million years. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 32: 775– 780.
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Smithsonian at the Poles Contributi
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Contents FOREWORD by Ira Rubinoff i
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Elaina Jorgensen, Alaska Fisheries
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CONTENTS vii Watching Star Birth fr
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x SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES blooms i
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xii SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES Change
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xiv SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES Museum
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Advancing Polar Research and Commun
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James P. Espy (1785- 1860), the fi
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ology fueled hopes that the scienti
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Meteorologists also provided critic
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visualize weather patterns remotely
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in ice sheets. The latest collapse
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Cooperation at the Poles? Placing t
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British Association for the Advance
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cations, in which the Smithsonian s
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ence” (Robinson, 2006: 76), he ha
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Taylor, C. J. 1981. First Internati
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24 SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES / KORSM
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36 SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES / De VO
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From Ballooning in the Arctic to 10
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ern Svalbard in 1896 (Capelotti, 19
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FIGURE 2. The Andrée campsite in 1
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National Zoo in Washington, D.C.—
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FROM BALLOONING TO 10,000-FOOT RUNW
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e rapidly deployed to South America
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“Of No Ordinary Importance”: Re
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1942). Ethnological collecting had
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group. More importantly, Murdoch’
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gan to study the question of Indian
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small museums and culture centers i
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fer of Alaskan objects and informat
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fi rst time in polar research— di
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Boas, Franz. 1888a. “The Central
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Lindsay, Debra. 1993. Science in th
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90 SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES / BURCH
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100 SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES / CROW
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From Tent to Trading Post and Back
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in befriending an extraordinary Inu
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The Smithsonian Institution’s pre
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of departure for research during th
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FIGURE 8. A drawing of the so-calle
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situated experiential education and
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the Past: Archaeologists, Native Am
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Brooding and Species Diversity in t
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iefl y consider below some of the i
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ment. Consequently, the selective e
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ated from the Antarctic. Strong cur
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the four main genera of brooding sc
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ing such cryptic speciation suggest
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LITERATURE CITED Absher, T. M., G.
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Madon-Senez, C. 1998. Disparité Mo
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Persistent Elevated Abundance of Oc
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ABUNDANCE OF ANTARCTIC OCTOPODS 199
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Considerations of Anatomy, Morpholo
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Many theories have been hypothesize
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FIGURE 4. A three dimensional recon
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are wider and more bulbous in the a
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mimicked the shape and profi le of
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faces for SEM observation. The spec
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DISCUSSION Imaging and dissection o
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out its length. The pulp chamber al
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pulpal neurons and dentin tubules.
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Scientifi c Diving Under Ice: A 40-
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TABLE 2. Principal Investigators an
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attaching ice anchors to the chunks
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dumping of weight under water. The
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MARINE LIFE HAZARDS Few polar anima
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Urine should be copious and clear a
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Environmental and Molecular Mechani
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face (�1.8°C) are likely to pose
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FIGURE 2. Illustrated selection shi
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FIGURE 4. Distribution of respirati
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invertebrates were placed in the ba
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Meehan, R. R., D. S. Dunican, A. Ru
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Capital Expenditure and Income (For
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tal breeding systems (Boyd, 1998; T
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FIGURE 3. Pup mass gain in relation
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MONITORING FOOD CONSUMPTION DURING
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Page 398 and 399: Watching Star Birth from the Antarc
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Page 412 and 413: Index AAUS. See American Academy of
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Page 420 and 421: Rogick, Mary, 206 Ronne, Finn, 55 R
Page 422: U.S. Naval Support Force Antarctica
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