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PicassoMars t1_ja59y3l wrote

Most meteorites are found on snowy plains because they’re easy to spot in contrast to the stark white snow.

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AllThePrettyPenguins t1_ja5b3mf wrote

For starters, only 29% of the planet's surface is land above sea level so statistically a meteorite is more likely to hit water, all else being equal.

The fragments that hit land may not end up in an accessible area, and may not be easy to find depending on the type of terrain.

Basically, when a fragment lands in Antarctica, it will remain relatively near the surface of the ice and snow cover. The dark or black colour can sometimes absorb just enough energy to warm and melt the icy material around it and become visible on the surface. Broadly speaking, when searchers spot a rocky object on the surface where there are no other rock sources around, it could be a fragment.

Shorter answer: they are far easier to spot against ice and snow.

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turbolag87 t1_ja5h2ek wrote

seems like that due to them being seen easier on the snow pack.

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Sassy-irish-lassy t1_ja5l64l wrote

Did anybody read this article at all? The OP was not asking this as a question, that's the title of the article, and the article discusses everything people in this thread are saying.

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Euhn t1_ja6p0r7 wrote

Replying to --BenjaminDanklin-- (#2,047,019)

Because most of the objects in our solar system are on the same plane of rotation around the sun. Planets are all very closely aligned, most of the objects that could impact Earth are on a similar trajectory. If an object hits near the equator, the faster and deeper it dives into the atmosphere, generating heat and ablating itself before it hits the ground. Objects etering near the poles have a longer time to slow down in less dense atmosphere. Less likely to burn up before reaching the ground.

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BlueFox5 t1_ja6tpal wrote

The south pole is a giant magnet. Meteorites are smaller meteors. Therefore, penguins collect meteorites to appease the polar bears, who are also magnets. Science!

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agate_ t1_ja6xblq wrote

Replying to Sassy-irish-lassy (#2,040,220)

The best bit is that nobody is giving the right answer, and even the article only hints at it:

There are a few places in Antarctica where ice slowly evaporates due to very low snowfall and high winds. This forms regions of clear blue ice, and the ice sheet flows toward these regions. Any meteorites that fall elsewhere on the ice sheet get carried to the blue ice zones where the ice evaporates leaving the meteorites behind on the surface. The meteorites build up to very high concentrations over thousands and thousands of years.

So the Antarctic meteorite hunters aren’t just going there because fresh meteorites are easy to spot, they’re there because all the meteorites that fell over a huge area for thousands of years are concentrated in one spot.

https://caslabs.case.edu/ansmet/

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PeakFuckingValue t1_ja6znqi wrote

Replying to agate_ (#2,049,705)

Wow that's incredible science! Genius level shit figuring that out. And thank you for posting this. I've been reading every single comment cock-eyed because they don't even sound confident in their own answers let alone researched.. ridiculous comment section.

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ramriot t1_ja7038b wrote

So first contrast, most meteorites are dark & snow/ice is white. Second climate, it's cold & dry there so weathering takes a long time. Third disturbance, there are very few things including humans to disturb a meteorites position.

But most importantly is that ice there flows over time down hill & near natural obstructions it pushes up into pressure ridges that ablate over time in the wind. This has the effect of concentrating any meteorites that fell into an area near the obstruction.

So researchers will search areas of sloping topography near an obstruction (rock outcrop) to get the best chance of recovering meteorites that fell anything up to perhaps a couple of hundred thousand years ago.

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Reddit-runner t1_ja71iso wrote

To quote the article:

>researchers have identified meteorite hotspots known as “meteorite stranding zones”. These are areas where the local geology, the flow of the ice, and climate conditions promote the aggregation of meteorites at the surface of the blue ice.

The flow of ice is something that deserves far more Emphasis here.

Antarctica is basically covered by one giant glacier, which flows from the middle to the rim of the continent. Any meteorite falling onto the ice sooner or later ends up at the edge of the glacier.

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dewayneestes t1_ja7loxp wrote

When that really big one broke up over Russia I thought there was an article about how the far northern hemisphere was a more likely landing zone due to some gravitational issue but now I can’t find it.

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zeeblecroid t1_ja7thdg wrote

Replying to Sassy-irish-lassy (#2,040,220)

If redditors see a question mark in a post title they assume there can't possibly be a link involved, even by the usual standards of people being unwilling to go past a headline.

Every single post in this sub where the title's a question gets the same reaction.

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dodothedodo t1_ja7vut8 wrote

Terrance forming In Icy areas might create more of an atmosphere

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louisdeer t1_ja80a8w wrote

Meteorites tend to accumulate in desert areas as conditions tend to preserve the rocks.

-- from the article

Antarctica is a polar desert.

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TSotP t1_ja82feq wrote

My guess, because it's huge, and permanently covered in ice, and noone lives there.

So most of the rocks found on or in the ice must have come from space, since no-one is farming or building in the area, nor have they ever done. (Unless you have read Lovecraft, in which case, I wouldn't go anywhere near those Mountains of Madness!!!)

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kernelhacker t1_ja82l8b wrote

"A December 2022 expedition was unable to uncover one of the heaviest meteorites ever found." (Emphasis added)

Too bad they didn't find the one they found - it would've have been a great find!

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hAirMoto007 t1_ja83rs5 wrote

Meteorites are magnetic.... if you could put a trap to catch falling meteorites on your roof, run a magnet over them grains.... they'll all stick to the magnet🤷‍♂️

The earth is a huge magnet..... the magnetic poles are perhaps causing this situation🤔

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Hadrollo t1_ja8hxa1 wrote

TL;DR: it's easier to spot rocks on a white background.

I found the article interesting, but I was kinda hoping for it to be something more complex, maybe about orbital planes and whatnot.

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Threedognite321 t1_ja8i8q3 wrote

The earths magnetic waves grab it and guide it that way.

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hagfish t1_ja8icj9 wrote

Replying to Sassy-irish-lassy (#2,040,220)

The article doesn't mention the other 'why', which is 'why are there so many people combing Antarctica for 'meteorites' at all? The answer is that China has sent dozens of 'meteorite hunting' expeditions to Antarctica over the years. In other news, Antarctica also has large fossil fuel and mineral reserves, but - no - it's definitely the space fragments they're looking for...

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smizzlebdemented t1_ja8jvxd wrote

Less to hide them, they are surrounded by only snow and ice, vs plants, trees, water, and getting covered by dirt and foliage over time.

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XxShArKbEaRxX t1_ja8kitk wrote

I think we’re writing off the possibility that the meteorites are just that considerate

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lost_in_life_34 t1_ja96axi wrote

many ancient people thought them to be holy and either deified them or used the metals in metalworking like with Tut's dagger. nobody touched them on the north pole cause no one lived there

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senorfernando t1_ja97nx3 wrote

Because the poles are the central points of the earth gravitational field, so the asteroids get sucked round and round and eventually gravity just pulls them down over the equator. Hope this was helpful!

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longhornrob t1_ja9843g wrote

The hole in the Ozone Layer lets them through. Duh.

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Aldirick1022 t1_ja9ctcu wrote

Least disturbed by man. No plowing or building to disturb the ground.

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ChakaRonda t1_ja9exu6 wrote

Freakin click bait! Literally: “Antarctica leads the continents in the number of recovered meteorites for several reasons. One reason is not because more meteorites land in Antarctica.”

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