Good Weather, Blue Ice: The Search for Meteoritic Matter in Antarctica Begins

10:27, November 16, 2021

The search team of the meteorite expedition of the university arrived at the place of work

On the morning of November 15, members of the meteorite expedition team of Ural Federal University began their work in the area of the Voltat mountain range, where they had previously set up camp. The researchers are working as part of the 67th Russian Antarctic Expedition.

"From Novolazarevskaya station by air transport we got to the Voltat massif, where we set an autonomous camp near areas of blue ice. Today, the team is ready to get down to work: we have to detect the accumulation zone and start searching for meteorite fragments," said team leader, Ural Federal University researcher Aleksandr Pastukhovich.

The team consists of six researchers, three of whom represent the UrFU and participate in the Antarctic expedition for the second time. Recall that the university organized the first Antarctic meteorite expedition in modern Russian history in 2015.

"The weather on the mainland is good, comparable to a warm spring day. Considering already familiar places! We will look for meteorite fragments visually. Optimal areas for this were determined earlier by satellite images," Ruslan Kolunin, a member of the team, wrote in social networks.

The work of meteorite expedition team of the Ural Federal University as a part of the 67th Russian Antarctic Expedition, organized by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, will last until November 25.