Recent Activities & Accomplishments
of the Meteorite Recovery Laboratory


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First attempt at a two-dimensional view of the overlapping strewn fields of Mojave Desert Study Areas from MRL field efforts. These graphics can also be depicted in 3-D by merging the Excel tabled data onto 3-D images of topographic maps. (Image credit: Robert Verish).


Meteorite Recovery Laboratory -
"What have you done for us, lately?"

Wrote several ARTICLES for the on-line magazine "MeteoriteTimes.com"

Volunteered my time as a consultant to assist the Griffith Observatory in the design and set-up of their new California Meteorite display. Donated a dozen California meteorites from my personal collection for this display.

Figured prominantly in the LA Co. Museum of Natural History's permanent EXHIBIT for "LA County Meteorites" with my loan of the LA 002 Mars rock meteorite.

Participated as a "meteorite docent" for the LA Co. Museum of Natural History's Discovery Day activities at the Page Museum.

Reported on the Franconia Area Meteorites in an ARTICLE in the May 2004 issue of "Meteorite" Magazine (see Meteorite, Volume 10, No. 2).

Published ABSTRACT# 1801 titled, "DALE DRY LAKE - NEW CLASSIFICATION, REVISED RECOVERY INFORMATION", as presented at the 34th Meeting of LPSC in 2003.

Coauthored and was referenced in ABSTRACT# 1572 titled, "NON-IMPACT ORIGIN FOR NEVADA’S ELKO CRATER FIELD." as presented at the 34th Meeting of LPSC in 2003.

Published ABSTRACT# 5393 titled, Gold Basin: Overlapping Strewn Fields or Heterogeneous Meteoroid?, which appears in the year 2001 "Supplemental Issue" of Meteoritics & Planetary Science

Wrote several magazine ARTICLES in "Meteorite!" Magazine (see August & November 2000 issue of Meteorite!).

Provided samples of Mars meteorite finds to researchers which contributed to our better understanding of the geology of Mars.

Details of how the above samples of LA Mars Meteorite were distributed for research purposes were published in a 30April2000 news articleof Space.Com, an on-line magazine for space news-related items.

Donated my Lucerne Valley 014, 015, & 016 meteorites to the Griffith Observatory for their new California Meteorite display.

Presented a DISPLAY of "Meteorites & Meteorwrongs" to the Barstow Desert Discovery Center.

Presented a display and several PUBLIC LECTURES to local area mineral societies and rock clubs.

As published in the Meteoritical Bulletin 85 - 2001 September (on Table 2), was the finder of record for the Dry Lake Valley and Willcox Playa 002 meteorites.

In addition, "recognized" the Hualapai Wash meteorite (also in Met Bull 85 - Table 2), as well as several other recently classified L-group chondrites from the Gold Basin Area of Arizona.

Arranged with the Griffith Observatory to take samples from the California meteorites in their collection that hadn't been classified, yet. In appreciation I repaired, polished, and etched a particularly bad saw cut on their Chuckwalla Iron specimen. Characterization and possible pairings for these meteorites is pending from Alan Rubin, UCLA.

Obtained from Carlton Moore of the Arizona State Meteorite Collection, samples of the last two California that haven't been characterized - Dale Dry Lake and the "OTHER" 29 Palms (1955). Classifications and pairings pending from Alan Rubin.

Coauthored a poster on "Unpaired Meteorites From Lucerne Dry Lake", that was presented to the Workshop on Extraterrestrial Materials from Hot and Cold Deserts at Pilanesberg, South Africa on July 6, 1999 prior to the 62nd Meteoritical Society Meeting in Johannesburg.

Was first author for the ABSTRACT for the above Workshop - published in the LPI Contribution No.997

Coauthored a paper that documented the recovery of "Numerous unpaired meteorites exposed on a deflating playa lake at Lucerne Valley, California". This paper concluded that other similar areas could have equally numerous unpaired meteorites recovered, as well. It was published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Vol.35, No.5, Supplement, A181-A183, 2000.

Field investigations at the "MRF Study Area No.1" has currently recovered 6 (six) new California meteorites (all equilibrated Ordinary Chondrites). These finds support the conclusion as described above in our published paper and poster.

Field investigations at the "MRF Study Area No.2" has already recovered 3 (three) more new California meteorites (also, Ordinary Chondrites). These finds continue to support the conclusion as described above in our published paper.

Established five (5) more "MRF Study Areas" in the Southwestern United States.

More to follow, soon...



Direct any and all inquiries to: Robert Verish

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