[BR-Crater] [Stratofox Team] Crater Assault 3 at Black Rock next weekend

[Heather Stern]

On Mon, Sep 01, 2008 at 01:18:30AM -0700, Ian Kluft wrote:
> I think we got enough positive responses for a trip to Black Rock.  So far
> Heather Stern KG6ZYC and Tom White KG6BRK responded positively.  That's more
> than enough to meet the safety rule not to go alone. :-)  Let's plan for
> "Crater Assault 3" on Sept 5-7.  Of course, if anyone else is mulling over
> their schedules to see if you can come along, let us know.
 
For anyone who's feeling wishy washy about going, I'll offer the following
encouragements to join us:
   * my jeep grand cherokee...
     +  seats 4 plus has hatch space, this makes it rather easy to seat 2
        and a bunch of gear or 3 and a moderate amount of gear.
     +  has very nice air conditioning :)
   * I'd enjoy having a passenger who's experienced in 4x4'ing - though
     I note that I would like to learn this skill, not dodge having to 
     learn it.
   * I qualified at one of the past camping trips; this one has a mission
     attached to it, but nobody specific hungering for their gear back -
     only our own enthusiasm for discovery.
   * I can loan an HT and mobile-mount, if someone extra (or tech or
     general) would like to go but feels short on gear to keep in comms.

> Everyone who's going gets a voice in the planning.  I have something
> scheduled for mid-day Friday.  But we've usually used the Friday as a
> travel day before - so I can reschedule my appointment for another day
> if we want to do that.  But if others want to depart Friday afternoon
> or evening then I'll keep my appointment as it is.

I can go for traveling daytime if we like.  There's a certain un-sweet spot
for leaving town that coincides with the rush hour of people heading out for
tahoe and other vacation runs;  if we end up hitting that, we may want to 
meetpoint at a restaurant and hit the open road after our own dinner. 

> The impact crater research has been stalled this year ... fuel prices. 
> ... prices coming down, here's another boost to the crater research...
> 
> Discover Magazine arranged a phone interview with me, which we did on
> Thursday. 

Wow!  Cool!

(apologies to anyone I just core dumped for saying "cool" about anything
related to Summer in Black Rock.)

...
> just name me, I'll make sure everyone who helps at all with this gets credit
> by name on my web site for your help.  I was already doing that anyway, but
> I need to make a bigger point of it now.
 
I'm not doing it for credit so much as for genuinely wanting to know and to
find, but the thought is appreciated.

> Of course, bring up any suggestions you have.  I had more things I wanted
> to look at after last time at the Stratofox 4 trip a year ago.  I've been
> waiting a year to get another visit to Upper High Dry lakebed.  
...
> the fractured rocks and the breccia (broken, jumbled and re-cemented) rocks
> above them.  At the thinnest, the fractured rocks were getting to about
> 1-2 mm wide in places, such as in this photo...
>    http://www.stratofox.org/pics/sf4-200708/ian/rocks/img_9959.jpg
> 
> It seems to me that we just needed more time looking around that area and
> further north into the Black Rock Range.  If the pattern of narrowing the
> width of the parallel fractures continues any more, then that's where I'd
> want to look for shatter cones, hopefully ones which geologists consider
> acceptable.  Any shatter cones would be proof that an impact took place
> there.  (It's the only way to prove an impact without an electron microscope,
> which is why I want to do this kind of search first.  Finding shatter cones

...not only would be unique to an impact, but would have clues toward the
center of the impact.

> Actually, if that hunch pans out, then I think some of the rocks we saw
> last year could turn out to have been low-grade shatter cones, particularly
> in the place where the fractures got only 1-2 mm wide.  It was starting to
> look right and then ended at the breccia boundary right there.
> 
> So for that part we'll be doing some 4x4'ing and some hiking.

I'm looking forward to it.

  . | .    Heather Stern / Stratofox           |     (408) 761-4912 cell
--->*<---  Aerospace tracking and Recovery   - * -   (408) 625.3525 wk
  ' | `    KG6ZYC                              |     (408) 374-7623 home