The Muonionalusta meteorites in northern Sweden - a unique marker horizon in the terrestrial landscape evolution
by
Clas Hätterstrand(Stockholm University, Geology Department)
→
Europe/Stockholm
FA31
FA31
Description
The Muonionalusta meteorite strewn field in northeastern Sweden is one of the largest iron meteorite fields in the world. Meteorites have been found infrequently in the area for more than a century, but in the last decade the find frequency has exploded, as metal detectors have been introduced as a search method. Until today, over 500 meteorite fragments have been recovered, some specimens weighing as much as 1000 kg. During this presentation, the story of the Muonionalusta meteorites will be told; their cosmic origin, their internal composition, their terrestrial history, and their use as a marker in the landscape evolution. Because the meteorites were spread over a large area, at a single event 100.000's years ago, they can be particularly useful for palaeoglaciologists in reconstructing ice flow directions and transportation capacities of past ice sheets. In an ongoing study, their areal distribution pattern is analysed and some results will be presented. (Host: Robert Cumming)
