This grant supports the continuation of studies of the level of natural thermoluminescence in all Antarctic meteorites returned during the 1988/89 and subsequent field seasons. The data will provide information concerning the time the meteorites have laid in the ice sheet, which will afford a novel means of studying ice movement processes, and, in particular, how these movements are affected by the trans-Antarctic mountains. The data will also help identify meteorites which have experienced unusual histories, such as anomalous orbits or recent shock reheating in space, and assist efforts to determine whether there has been a secular variation in the source of the meteorites to earth. Such data will help ensure the maximum scientific return from the Antarctic meteorite collection.
