Meteorites are known to fall all over the world, but the environment and unique processes in Antarctica make them somewhat easier to find in the pristine, snowy landscape. However, collecting meteorites in Antarctica is physically exhausting and dangerous.
But what if we had a “treasure map” that showed the most likely places to find meteorites in Antarctica, directing researchers to where to look?
Researchers at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands are using artificial intelligence to create a kind of treasure map to identify areas where meteorites are likely to be found.
“We learned from our analysis that satellite observations of temperature, ice speed, snow cover and geometry are good indicators of the location of meteorite-rich areas,” said Veronica Tollenaar, who led the study, published in Science Advances. . “We expect the treasure map to be eighty percent accurate.”
Based on the study, scientists estimate that more than 300,000 meteorites are somewhere in the Antarctic landscape and are waiting to be discovered. This represents a huge scientific potential.
“We found several never-before-visited meteorite-rich areas that are relatively close to research stations,” said Stef Lhermitte, a study participant at Delft University of Technology.
Rocks from space have been accumulating in Antarctica for millennia, preserved in the cold, desert climate of the continent. Meteorites fall and build up in the ice sheet in the interior of the continent. Glaciers flow slowly and carry meteorites with them. If a glacier collides with a large obstacle, in places like the Trans-Antarctic Mountains, the ice rises and meteorites rise to the surface.
In addition, dry Antarctic winds are gradually eating away at the ice, exposing meteorites. The ice rises to the surface and the process is repeated. With enough time, a significant amount of meteorites accumulate.
Meteorites are too small to be detected separately from space, but with indirect satellite measurements such as temperature, ice flow velocity, surface slope and the way ice reflects radar signals, processing all this data and using machine learning, the researchers found that they can predict where meteorites are concentrated on the surface.
One of the areas known to contain meteorites is in the areas of blue ice on the continent. Contrasting blue ice makes it easier to detect and collect meteorites during Antarctic field missions.
Photo: Map of Antarctic meteorite hotspots with positively classified observations. In the central overview map, the size of the positively classified observations is exaggerated by visual contrast, while in the sub-maps (A to G) the positively classified observations are scaled. The extended areas of blue ice (BIA) on which the classification is performed are outlined in black. The “probability of finding meteorites” in a place corresponds to the a posteriori (after the experiment) probability. Credit: Tollenaar et al.
Source: Simulation Predicts Where to Find 300,000 Meteorites Hidden in Antarctica, Universe Today
Reference: Unexplored Antarctic meteorite collection sites revealed through machine learning
Veronica Tollenaa, Harry Zekollari, Steff Lhermitte, David M.J. Tax, Vinciane Debaillesteven Goderis, Philippe Clayes and Frank Pattyn; Science Advances • 26 Jan 2022 • Vol 8, Issue 4 • DOI: 10.1126 / sciadv.abj8138
