This award supports a project to characterize Antarctic meteorites by measuring natural thermoluminescense (TL) levels. This work is part of the basic characterization program carried out on all Antarctic meteorites and is used to determine future research avenues on the Antarctic meteorites. This program will measure the natural TL levels in as many Antarctic meteorites as possible and will make the data rapidly available to the community. The data will be used to determine pairing (fragmentation), orbital distribution, estimate approximate terrestrial ages of meteorites, and to identify meteorites with unusual thermal and radiation histories or those that are mineralogically unusual. To enhance the value of these data, studies are also conducted on natural TL profiles in other extraterrestrial samples (large meteorites and lunar samples) and comparisons are made between TL data and cosmogenic radionuclide abundances. Over the course of this award, the natural TL laboratory will (1) continue systematic measurement of the natural TL of all suitable Antarctic samples as part of their preliminary screening, (2) examine pairing and natural TL distributions for individual Antarctic sites, where several very large pairing groups may exist, (3) continue the detailed compilation of pairing data, and (4) perform theoretical and experimental studies to use in the interpretation of TL data in Antarctic meteorites, including additional studies of modern falls, lunar samples, and of finds from other regions of the world.
