How do I?

Tuberale

Tuberale

Gold Member
May 12, 2010
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Portland, Oregon
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Will be making a recovery of a very large meteorite which landed here over 100 years ago. Recovery site is near salt water, so I have to wait for a low tide to make. I'll have to clean overburden. Need to collect a bowling ball sized piece. Any suggestions of how I try doing that? Even if I get several days worth of low tides, hacking the piece I need to ID is problematic. Meteorite is probably a pallasite.
 

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If you are so sure on what you have and where it is, rent a backhoe.
 

I suggest to take corroded piece and make a nickel test or check by XRF. If verification will be positive prepare to exploration like Terry told.
 

Depends...

You could get a pump and hose and blow off the overburden with water.

You could blow it off in the same way they blow holes from a boat to hunt for treasure if the tide is in.

You could blow out the object with the same gear they use to sink dock pilings.

You can't dig a little today and a little tomorrow and a little the next day. With the tides in and out, it will just keep filling the hole back in.

You have to take one shot at it, and finish it before the tide comes back in.
 

Terry's reply would be good if there was a place to put a backhoe. There isn't.

Art's suggestion to take a piece ... that's what I need to try to get. Stone is much larger, and still in one piece AFAIK.

G.I.B. has some good points. There are actually two places this could be, each separated by a small body of water (1 ft. across?) in marshy conditions. Overburden not really a problem, at least I think (only have GEOSAT photos to work from at this time). Object is too large to move, so doesn't make sense to blow it out. G.I.B.'s last point is well taken. Should I use explosives to blast the bowling ball piece off in the time available?
 

NO EXPLOSIVES!!!! If the "meteorite" is really that large you can get enough money to chopper the machines you need in!
 

Chainsaw winch and solid planks to "slide it out"? Chainsaw winch are used for hunting big game, to pull, for example, a moose out of the woods, when you're alone.
You just need something heavy or solid to tie the winch on, your vehicle if not too far, if not a big rock or tree should be good. I think it would work. Excuse my english and keep us informed please :thumbsup:
 

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Why mess around" Listen to Terry. There is equipment out there that is huge and will go into anything to retrieve objects. Some come in from the water side, some from the land. I've seen them in action at Padre Island National Seashore. Yep, lots of drilling on our coast, federal or not. Huge semi's doing 60-70 mph(HUGE tires) going down a beach that stops 4 wheelers. Trust me, the equipment is out there...
 

No chopper could lift this, Terry. That's why I don't think it can be moved from the site. I don't believe a barge at high tide could carry this out without grounding.

Stone said to be 22 feet across. I think that's more like 22 x 18 feet, probably 7-9 feet deep. But still... easily largest meteorite known to strike the earth.
 

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Tuberale said:
Art's suggestion to take a piece ... that's what I need to try to get. Stone is much larger, and still in one piece AFAIK.
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I'm talking about checking the stone. Take a small piece of rust, if is more then 1% by weight of nickel that should be a meteorite. Are you 100% sure that is a meteorite?
If we are talking about how to pull out this stone I have suggestion- see photo
morasko261kg.jpg
They were taking 264 kg meteorite.
see on Art & Met - Meteoryty
 

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Roughly where is this. I am familiar with much of Oregon and might be able to offer some advice based on area knowledge. PM if you do not want location open to all.
 

Southern Oregon coast. A witnessed fall. Impact heard (and felt?) 50 miles away. Day and time of fall known. Also weather conditions. Fell in a blizzard, which is very rare for this area. Dumped 3-10 feet of snow: which is why it remains lost today. Visible by satellite photographs, though.

Art's suggestion is well taken. But hard to work through in a bog.
 

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The only way you're going to remove something of that size and weight is to trench into it, then use air bags to float it out into a more manageable location.

You're trying to get down 7'-9' in mucky marsh and mud during low tide?!?!? You might have better luck loading a small excavator on a barge and coming in and digging just before tide goes out. Don't worry if the barge gets stranded there - it'll be able to float out a few hours later.

As you haven't yet located the actual piece, you might try going out there in a boat and use a long rod to probe down in the muck. This would be a two-person operation - one to keep the boat in position from wave action. ...This is assuming high tide actually covers a portion of the piece. If not, then you might have to bring in a boat just before the tide goes out and haul in floating panels to build a makeshift work platform. You can buy a product already made (SIP's, or Structural Insulated Panels), or you can make your own using 2 layers of plywood with a sheet of 4" thick polyfoam board sandwiched in between. ...Guess you could try using styrofoam instead, but it tends to break too easily.
 

kcm said:
The only way you're going to remove something of that size and weight is to trench into it, then use air bags to float it out into a more manageable location.

You're trying to get down 7'-9' in mucky marsh and mud during low tide?!?!? You might have better luck loading a small excavator on a barge and coming in and digging just before tide goes out. Don't worry if the barge gets stranded there - it'll be able to float out a few hours later.

As you haven't yet located the actual piece, you might try going out there in a boat and use a long rod to probe down in the muck. This would be a two-person operation - one to keep the boat in position from wave action. ...This is assuming high tide actually covers a portion of the piece. If not, then you might have to bring in a boat just before the tide goes out and haul in floating panels to build a makeshift work platform. You can buy a product already made (SIP's, or Structural Insulated Panels), or you can make your own using 2 layers of plywood with a sheet of 4" thick polyfoam board sandwiched in between. ...Guess you could try using styrofoam instead, but it tends to break too easily.
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You've made some excellent suggestions for total recovery. Thank you!

But for now, really only need a chunk of it for analysis and identification purposes.
 

Amazing it landed in a Marsh and didn't penetrate 80'+ deep and make a massive crater.
 

It wouldn't matter if it hit an asphalt parking lot it would have keep on going. Your talking a couple hundred tons at high velocity,it also would have exploded like Berringer or any other Meteorite does on impact,or before impact. And if it did not then it would have a massive impact crater. Pics would be cool.
 

supertraq said:
It wouldn't matter if it hit an asphalt parking lot it would have keep on going. Your talking a couple hundred tons at high velocity,it also would have exploded like Berringer or any other Meteorite does on impact,or before impact. And if it did not then it would have a massive impact crater. Pics would be cool.
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Interesting supposition. Who knows? Maybe it did explode, but over the ocean.
 

I would love to see pictures of the rock!! At least the piece you chip off. Sounds like an epic find!!
 

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