ARE THERE REAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANTARCTIC FINDS AND MODERN FALLS METEORITES

Recent reports of differences between Antarctic and non-Antarctic meteorite collections include some based on mass frequency distributions and relative abundances of types. Using the modern falls of HARVEY and CASSIDY (1989) as a model of what a meteorite collection free of post-fall processing should be like, we compare the relative abundance of different types of stony meteorites for the Antarctic finds and the modern falls. Reconstructing the Antarctic mass-frequency distributions using a model based on field observations of Antarctic meteorites loss due to weathering, wind transport, and search inefficiencies, we create an idealized Antarctic meteorite mass frequency distribution that is identical in shape (essentially lognormal) to the modern falls. Using our model we find no difference between the Antarctic finds and modern falls, within reasonable estimates of error.