The Meteoritical Society Newsletter 2004
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SUPPLEMENT TO METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, VOL. 39, 11 The Meteoritical Society Newsletter (October 2004) A report of the business carried out by the Society over the past year, edited by Ed Scott, Secretary. PRESIDENT'S EDITORIAL Gary Huss Electronic publishing and the economics of publishing in the electronic age are still at the top of the agenda for Council 2004 has been a busy and interesting year for the and the MAPS office. It is clear that MAPS must eventually Meteoritical Society. We had a wonderful meeting in Rio de join some kind of journal aggregate to improve marketing to Janeiro, MAPS is now back on schedule after the transition to libraries and thereby dramatically increase the number of a new Editor, we are working to understand the new world of Institutional subscriptions. There are several different kinds electronic publishing so that MAPS will continue to be a of aggregates ranging from the big Elsevier Science Direct leading scientific journal, we are making progress at package to a recently formed non-profit group of geoscience streamlining and improving the process for naming new journals called Geoscience World. We have had discussions meteorites, and we have initiated a new program to use Society with several different organizations, but so far we have not resources to support new initiatives for the members and to found a situation that is right for MAPS and the Society. The support meteorite studies. I will review each of these topics Society leadership will continue to study this issue through below. At the end of this year, I will pass the torch to the new its Publications Committee, looking for the option that gives President, Herbert Palme. It has been my goal to leave the MAPS the best marketing while preserving editorial control Society in better shape that when I became President. I hope and the financial base that allows its publication. that I have succeeded. My thanks to all of the members of the Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta: Under the leadership Society for the opportunity to serve as President. I wish our of Editor Frank Podosek, GCA has been running smoothly. new President the best of luck an offer him my full support. GCA is sponsored by both the Meteoritical and Geochemical I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ed Societies and is published by Elsevier. GCA is part of the Scott, who has served as the Secretary for the Society for the Elsevier aggregate, Science Direct. past 6 years. The Secretary is the heart and soul of the Society, Both journals remind those who submit research papers keeping the records and reminding the President and Council and abstracts to make sure that any meteorite names have been of what needs to be done. Ed will turn over the reigns to Jeff approved by the Nomenclature Committee. A process is in Grossman next year. Welcome to Jeff and thanks to Ed for a place for rapid approval of the name of your meteorite by the job well done. Nomenclature Committee, if necessary. Thank you for your support of our two Society Journals. Annual Meeting. Naming Meteorites The 66th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society was held at the Sofitel Hotel in Rio de Janeiro on August 2-6, When I began my term as President, I made it a priority to 2004. Although the attendance was not as high as at some improve and streamline the process for naming of meteorites. previous meetings, those who did attend were treated to a The number of meteorites being submitted to the beautiful city and meeting venue, wonderful weather Nomenclature Committee has increased from a few tens of permitting us to take advantage of the world-famous beaches, meteorites per year in the 1980s to 1610 new meteorites in the a meeting that was run with extraordinary efficiency, and a last issue of the Bulletin. This increasing work load has delightful banquet with a spectacular show by a Brazilian required the Committee to evolve significantly over the last dance troop. There was some good science, too. Rosa decade, and efforts to improve the system even more are still Scorzelli and her organizing committee did an outstanding under way. A recent step to improve the efficiency of the job and I thank them on behalf of the Society. As always, a system was to establish a system of associate editors for the highlight of the meeting was the presentation of the Society Meteoritical Bulletin to spread out the work load generated by awards. The Leonard Medal was presented to Michael J. Drake the thousands of meteorites that are submitted to the “for his outstanding contributions to trace element behavior Committee each year. A web-based submission procedure has in experimental and terrestrial magmatic systems, planetary been put in place (and is now actually working), and a way to differentiation, and the petrogenesis of the Moon, HED monitor the progress of your submissions is now available on meteorites, and asteroid 4 Vesta.” The citation address was the web. After a meeting on naming of meteorites at the given by Hap McSween. The Barringer Medal was presented to Münster Meteoritical Society Meeting in 2003, a major effort Peter H. Schultz “for his theroretical and experimental studies has gone into rethinking and revising the rules for naming of impact craters, which have helped to elucidate cratering new meteorites. This work is coming to fruition, and I hope processes on the Earth, Moon Mercury, Venus, and Mars.” The that the new version of the rules will better serve both those citation address was given by David Crawford. The Nier Prize who find meteorites and the community of collectors and was presented to Scott R. Messenger “for his pioneering work scientists who are the “end users” of the meteorites. The applying ion microprobe techniques to the study of biggest remaining issue is the inability of the community of extraterrestrial materials, particularly to the measurement of individuals who classify meteorites to keep up with the huge the isotopic compositions of light elements in interplanetary number of new meteorites that require classification. One dust.” The citation address was given by Larry Nittler. possibility might be for an interested and dedicated amateur Congratulations to all of the winners. meteoriticist or retired scientist to open a business that for a fee would classify large numbers of meteorites for the Journals collector community. Although most of us who classify chondrites rely on the electron probe to get the composition Meteoritics and Planetary Science: Under the leadership of olivine, it is possible to determine the composition using a of Editor Tim Jull, the flagship journal of the Meteoritical thin section and petrographic microscope. This requires Society has had a very good year (see Editor’s report below). practice and one would probably have to demonstrate The transition to the new Editor is now complete and competency before the results would be accepted by the production of MAPS is back on schedule. The number of Nomenclature Committee, but there is an opportunity here for article submissions is up, and the number of pages published someone who likes to look at a lot of meteorites. and the number of library subscriptions is up slightly. 1 I would like to thank the Nomenclature Committee and its Naturelle in Paris. He is perhaps best known for his studies of Chair, Jeff Grossman, for all of their hard work and dedication 244Pu fisson-track thermochronometry of chondrites, which to their task. Jeff will be stepping down as Chair of the led him to advocate a “shallot-shell” model for the structure Nomenclature Committee to take over as Secretary of the of the H-chondrites parent body. Graham Ryder was a highly Society. He passes the torch to Monica Grady, a long-time respected lunar scientist who provided authoritative member of the Committee and former Editor of the constraints on the cataclysmic bombardment history of the Meteoritical Bulletin. Thank you Jeff and good luck to early Moon and Earth. Please help to honor these Monica. I also want to thank Sara Russell and her team for distinguished scientists by nominating the best student their hard work putting together the Meteoritical Bulletin. I papers of the year to receive this award. am pleased that Sara will be staying on as Bulletin Editor. NEXT COUNCIL Society Website On January 1, 2005 a new Council will take over: The current Meteoritical Society website President: Herbert Palme (http://www.meteoriticalsociety.org) was inaugurated in Past-President: Gary Huss January, 2003, under the guidance of webmaster Matt Genge. Vice President: Joe Goldstein Matt has been working hard to make the website more user Secretary: Jeff Grossman friendly and to implement the web interface with the Treasurer: Kevin McKeegan Nomenclature Committee. The intent is to make the website Councilors: Addi Bischoff, Marc Chaussidon, Guy the place to go for information on the Society, for Society Consolmagno, Henning Haack, Trevor Ireland, Noriko Kita, services, for educational materials, and for other features of Jutta Zipfel, Michael Zolensky. interest to Society members. If you have an idea of how to improve the website, please let Matt or the Council hear from SOCIETY AWARDS AND HONORS you. Membership The Meteoritical Society has three awards that it presents annually. In addition the Society elects Fellows every two The membership of the Meteoritical Society has declined years, and jointly sponsors the Planetary Sciences Best slowly since its peak in 2001, the year of the Rome meeting. Student Paper Award, which is now called the Pellas-Ryder That meeting generated a lot of new members because the Award, with the American Geological Society.