Annexe 1
| "During Shima's presentation, Prof. William A.
Cassidy of the University of Pittsburgh, decided to submit a
proposal to the National Science Foundation, which funds all
Antarctic research by U. S. scientists, to search for meteorite
concentrations within helicopter range of McMurdo Station, across
the continent from the Yamato Mts. On returning home he reported
the Shimas' results to Dr. Takesi Nagata, Director of Japan's
National Institute of Polar Research, who was visiting the University
of Pittsburgh at that time. Nagata sent a field party back to
the Yamato Mts. icefields in December, 1973, to conduct the first
search specifically aimed at collecting meteorites in Antarctica.
The members recovered 12 more specimens that season. It was by
no means so straightforward a task to field an American team.
A lapse of up to 18 months generally is expected between a scientist's
submission of a new proposal to the NSF and his or her arrival
in Antarctica. However, as a radical departure from traditional
Antarctic programs, Cassidy's proposal received mixed reviews
and was declined. Many of the geologists, glaciologists, and
other scientists who dominated Antarctic research saw meteorites
as of minimal scientific value, and referees with personal knowledge
of the frigid Antarctic wastes viewed the idea of focused searches
for them as naive. Cassidy submitted a revised proposal in 1975
which also was declined, but he resubmitted it and it was accepted
on short notice after he called the NSF with the news that a
Japanese team had just returned with 663 specimens. In 1976,
Cassidy led the first U.S. meteorite search in Antarctica. That
year Nagata also sent a scientist to search for meteorites out
of McMurdo Station and so joint searches were agreed upon with
equal sharing of all specimens found. This arrangement continued
for three years. With the exception of 1990 when the season's
work was cancelled due to lack of logistical support, Cassidy
led the U. S. teams every year until 1992 when he passed along
the leadership role to his Co-investigator, Dr. Ralph Harvey." Marvin U. B. (A Historical Outline of Meteorite Discoveries in Australia and Antarctica, 1994) |
Annexe 2
|
Antarctica Nomad project Robotics Demonstrations for Search for Meteorites
|