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2002 Denver Annual Meeting (October 27-30, 2002)

Paper No. 6
Presentation Time: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM

AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN FOR WESTWATER, UTAH MICROSPHERULES DETERMINED BY IDENTIFICATION OF SECONDARY MELT CHARACTERISTICS


FANDRICH, J.W., Westwater Group Geological Research Facility, 586 W. Indian Creek Drive, #1, Grand Junction, CO 81501 and DUJAY, Richard C., Mesa State College Center for Microscopy, westwaterranch@juno.com

The discovery of more than two hundred microspherules ranging in size from 40µm was made at Westwater, Utah in 1999. These magnetic, metallic and glassy silicate particles were collected from what appears to be the bottom of an ice dam lake located on the Colorado River.

A scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrometry was employed to investigate these particles. Basic chemistry results are suggestive but not a defining factor in determining microspherule history. However, specific secondary melt characteristics observed as ornamentation on microspherules greater than 200µm and less than 600µm (?) support the extraterrestrial provenance for these particles.

Session No. 12--Booth# 92

Planetary Geology (Posters)
Sunday, 27 October 2002: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 34, No. 6, September 2002, p.37
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