Science page update / desert varnish on meteorites

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 7:23 AM

Greg wrote:

“I’m wondering if the formation of desert varnish
can vary depending on different biological and
environmental factors. Perhaps in one area a
similar thickness may take a shorter period of
time. 100,000 years is a long time, but I guess
not that long in geological time. This is interesting
in that some meteorites may have been sitting
on earth for a very long time.”

Below are some interesting pages about desert varnish:

Rock Varnish (desert varnish): An Internet Primer for
Rock Art Research by Ronald I. Dorn , Professor of
Geography Arizona State University

http://alliance.la.asu.edu/dorn/VarnishPages/VarnishPrimerIntro.html

Chapter 8 in Geochemical Sediments and Landscapes
http://alliance.la.asu.edu/dorn/VarnishPages/GeochemicalSediments/GeochemicalSediments.html

http://alliance.la.asu.edu/dorn/DornCh08.pdf

Note: the above URL to Chap. 8, has numerous links to
PDF file of papers about rock varnish.

Desert Varnish
http://alliance.la.asu.edu/dorn/DesertVarnishDornFormat.pdf

Varnish Micro-Lamination (VML) Dating

http://www.vmldating.com/

PDF files of various publication about rock varnish can
be downloaded from “Selected Publications on
Methodology and Application of VML Dating” at:

http://www.vmldating.com/selectedpapers.html

Yours,

Paul H.