2006 - 2008 Korea Expedition for Antarctic Meteorites (KOREAMET)

Abstract

About 40,000 meteorite specimens have been recovered from Antarctica since the mid 1970's by the government-supported expedition parties. USA, Japan, Italy and China are continuously operating expedition parties, and Korea has operated since 2006. During 2006 - 2008 austral summer seasons, three Korea Expedition for Antarctic Meteorites (KOREAMET) recovered 29 meteorites at blue ice fields of Thiel Mountains. The government-funded or -supported institutions are systematically controlling Antarctic meteorites for the research. They should classify the meteorites by recommended scheme, and distribute to researchers through proposal evaluation. Korea Polar Research Institute will distribute the meteorites from 2010. In this review, concentration mechanisms of Antarctic meteorites and expeditions for meteorites by the other nations are briefly reviewed. The results of the three KOREAMET and future plans are reported.