METEORITES OF INDIA

The following material is presented as an example of the detailed information in MINLIB. India, a large country representing some 2.2% of the world's land area, has to date yielded an estimated 134 known meteorites. This presentation contains the following three MINLIB extracts;

(1) A double-record citation with keywords, describing in detail the content of a new meteorite catalogue,

(2) Two simpler, more-typical records, representing an abstract on the history of research on Indian meteorites, and a short article including the Sabrum (1999) fall

(3) A short bibliography of relevant books and articles, in citation format, including the above-mentioned items plus other meteorite catalogues and lists. Note that logical fields, used to retrieve this short bibliography, are omitted here to save space. Affiliation data, such as the contact address provided for the following item, is however not a distinct field in MINLIB.

A subject can be viewed from many angles. The most convenient way of generating a table of meteorites found in a given country is now to visit the USGS-hosted database of the Meteoritical Bulletin, a recent development which still (2006) seems rather magical! This has the advantages of being multi-layered and also the official world repository of meteorite occurrence and nomenclature. As of 07 April 2006, the Met.Bull. tabulates 140 names for India. These include 129 accepted meteorites, 4 undocumented records, 6 dubious records (globally, these can be misidentified "pseudometeorites" and misplaced fireball events) and one impact structure (the Lonar crater).

MINLIB includes 1 or more records to virtually all these meteorites, a reflection of the attention paid to the Indian Subcontinent in the database. Its emphasis on bibliographic research offers a convenient window into work already published on many of the more intenseively-studied examples.

1. Important New Publication on Indian Meteorites

Ghosh,S and Dube,A
Pictorial Catalogue on One Hundred Indian Meteorites.
Geol.Surv.India Catalogue 3, 310pp. (1999).

A meteorite catalogue for India - the Geol.Surv.India museum in Calcutta has a collection of 686 meteorites - the book provides 249 monochrome pictures of 100 Indian meteorites, with a list of recent examples, as of 01 January 1996 - the 100 meteorites include 84 chondrites, 10 achondrites and six iron meteorites - physical properties and other characteristics (book critique - J.Geol.Soc. India 54, 665, December 1999) - the book was received in May 2001 and contains many valuable images of meteorite surface textures, including the morphology of fusion crusts - when first received it had a strong ammoniacal smell, presumably related to the printing process - notes on museum curation and loan of materials for research (pp.iii-iv) - with addenda to the latest complete catalogue of the G.S.I. meteorite collection, as of 01 January 1996 (pp.2-4, 15) - each chosen meteorite in the present publication is described in some detail, with data on such topics as location, dates of fall or find, mass, specific gravity, degree of weathering, degree of fracturing, flight history, classification (class and other data such as Fa content of olivine and total Fe in assay), worldwide museum holdings - the 100 meteorites are as follows -

the first 40 chondrites, in alphabetical order, are as follows: Akbarpur, Ambapur Nagla, Andura, Ankhediya Mota [L4-5 fall, 02 September 1985, in Gujarat - 20.046 kg including 17 kg main mass, pp.22-23 - not in the standard world meteorite catalogue of Grady, 2000 ] and Assam - Atarra, Bansur, Banswal, Baroti and Benares-I [LL4, alias Benares (a)] - Benares-II [not the iron Benares (b) noted in "Grady", but a 50.66-g fragment of a veined H6, pp.40-41], Bhagur, Bherai, Bishunpur (LL3, pp.46-49) and Bori - Butsura (veined H6, pp.52-55 with what appears to be a protruding metal vein on one face), Chainpur (LL3, pp.56-59), Chandpur, Chandakapur and Charwallas - Cranganore, Dandapur, Delhi, Desuri and Dhurmsala [listed in Punjab - actually in adjacent Himachal Pradesh] - Donga Kohrod, Durala, Ekh Khera, Erakot and Futtehpur - Gujargaon, Haripura, Jamkheir, Jemlapur (L5, exact location in India not known), Judesegeri - Kadonah, Kaee, Kakangari, Kamalpur, Kamsagar -

the other 44 chondrites are as follows: Kangra Valley, Khanpur (pp.124-129), Kheragur, Kheri Maham [veined L5, a fall of 07 May 1986, total 73.495 kg, pp.132-141 - not in Grady, 2000] and Khetri - Kusiali, Kuttippuram, Lalitpur, Lua and Manbhoom - Meerut, Mhow, Mirzapur, Moradabad and Moti-ka-nagla - Muddoor, Nammianthal, Naoki, Nawapali and Parnallee - Pirthalla, Pokhra, Pulsora, Ramnagar and Rampurhat - Ranchapur, Rangala, Rewari, Sabetmahet and Sarratola - Segowlie, Semarkona (famous LL3 fall in Bihar, 1940), Shikarpur, Shupiyan and Sitathali (H5 with dimpled fusion crust, actually as many as three generations of fusion crust formed on progressively disintegrating mass during fall, pp.244-247) - Sultanpur, Supuhee, Tirupati, Udaipur and Udipi - Umbala, Valdavur, Vishnupur, Yatoor -

the ten achondrites are as follows: Bholgati (howardite), Bustee (aubrite), Dyalpur (ureilite), Goalpur [Goalpara] (ureilite) and Haraiya (eucrite) - Lakangaon (eucrite), Manegaon (diogenite), Nagaria (eucrite), Shalka (diogenite) and Shergotty (shergottite, SNC fall in 1865) -

the six irons are as follows: Bahjoi, Kodaikanal, Muzaffarpur (IRANOM with 12.9% Ni, fall in Bihar, 1964), Nedagolla, Raghunathpur [or Raghunathpura, a 1986 fall in Alwar district, Rajasthan] and Samelia

(except where noted, all entries are also in the latest worldwide meteorite catalogue, with names exactly as listed - see Grady, 2000 - seven minor discrepancies, clarifications or apparently new meteorites in the GSI work are noted in square brackets in the 2 MINLIB records - the 100 meteorites illustrated in the GSI catalogue are a very creditable selection of the total of known Indian meteorites, listed as 123 in Grady - note that three of the illustrated falls, `Benares-II' which is an undated fall in Uttar Pradesh, Ankhediya Mota which fell in Gujarat in 1985 and Kheri Maham which fell in Haryana in 1986, are not listed in Grady - GCW).

For completeness' sake, here are the names of 26 other Indian meteorites, listed in Grady (2000); Andhara, Benares (b), Chail, Chetrinahatti, Dhajala, Dharwar, Gurram Konda, Jalandhar, Kalumbi, Khohar, Lahrauli, Lohawat, Madhipura, Merua, Myhee Caunta, Nainital, Parsa, Patora, Piplia Kalan, Phulmari, Punganaru, Seoni, Singhur, Soheria, Tonk and Vissannapeta.

Note: this publication is available from:

The Director,
Geological Survey of India,
Publication & Information Division,
29 Jawaharlal Nehru Road,
Calcutta,
West Bengal 700 016
India

Priced at Rs 240 (India) / 9.00 pounds / US$14.00 ---
see the GSI web site.

2. Context: Research on Indian Meteorites

Nehru,CE
Meteorites in the Indian subcontinent: a historical perspective.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 35, A118 (2000).

The study of Indian meteorites - history of science - discovery of new mineral species in Indian meteorites, some (such as oldhamite and osbornite in Bustee) named for officers of the Geological Survey of India - maskelynite in the Shergotty SNC achondrite - iron meteorites are strangely scarce in India, considering the scientifically significant chondrites and achondrites recovered from the subcontinent - 124 meteorites are known from India, 15 from Pakistan and 8 from Bangladesh - growth of the Indian national meteorite collection.

Ghosh,S
Estimation of equilibration temperature of major chondrite groups
at different stages of thermal metamorphism through the studies of mineral chemistry.

Geol.Surv.India Records 133 part 2, 12-13 (1999).

Classification of 14 meteorites - petrologic grade and shock state of 14 chondrites from India - 5 H-chondrites: Judesegeri, Donga Kohrod, Tirupati, Shupiyan and Ranchapur - 5 L-chondrites: Sarratola, Mhow, Kheragur, Lalitpur and Muddoor - 4 LL-chondrites: Semarkona, Bishunpur, Rampurhat and Parnallee - petrography - plus notes on two new falls - Vissannapeta (fall in Andhra Pradesh, 13 December 1997, cumulate eucrite achondrite) and Sabrum (fall in Tripura on 30 April 1999, LL6 / S4 - a 678-g piece was recovered, with olivine of Fa_30.5, orthopyroxene of Fs_22.2 and minor clinopyroxene and secondary plagioclase feldspar - approximately the 127th known Indian meteorite - GCW).

3a. References

GRADY,MM (2000) Catalogue of Meteorites. Natural History Museum, London / Cambridge University Press, 5th edition, 690pp. plus CD-ROM.

NEHRU,CE (2000) Meteorites in the Indian subcontinent: a historical perspective. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 35, A118.

GHOSH,S (1999) Estimation of equilibration temperature of major chondrite groups at different stages of thermal metamorphism through the studies of mineral chemistry. Geol.Surv.India Records 133 part 2, 12-13.

GHOSH,S and BHATTACHARYA,AK (1999) Petrography, bulk chemistry, shock metamorphism and selected mineral phase compositions of Indian chondrites and achondrites. Geol.Surv.India Records 131 part 2, 24-25 (notes on the classification of 12 meteorites).

GHOSH,S and DUBE,A (1999) Pictorial Catalogue on One Hundred Indian Meteorites. Geol.Surv.India Catalogue No. 3, 310pp.

GHOSH,S and SEN,DK (1999) Petrography, bulk chemistry, shock metamorphism and selected mineral compositions of Indian chondrites and achondrites. Geol.Surv.India Records 132 part 2, 4 (notes on the classification of another 12 meteorites).

SEN GUPTA,PR (1986) Petrographic inventory of fifty five Indian meteorites. Indian Minerals 40 no.3, 40-51.

NAG,DK (1984) A revised bibliography on meteorites of Indian sub-continent. Indian Minerals 38 no.2, 46-57.

SEN GUPTA,PR and SEN GUPTA,S (1982) Catalogue of the Meteorite Collection of the Geological Survey of India in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Geol.Surv.India Catalogue Series 1, 101pp.

MURTHY,VN, SRIVASTAVA,SNP and DUBE,A (1968) Indian meteorites. Geol.Surv.India Memoir 99, 172pp. plus 30 plates.

COULSON,AL (1940) A Catalogue of Meteorites: with Special Reference to Indian Falls and Finds and to Specimens in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, as on August 1st, 1939. Geol.Surv.India Memoir 75, 346pp. plus 6 plates.

SILBERRAD,CA (1932) List of Indian meteorites. Mineral.Mag. 23, 290-304.

3b. Latest References [updated June 2005]

BHANDARI,N, MURTY,SVS, SHUKLA,PN, SHUKLA,AD, MAHAJAN,RR, SARIN,MM, SRINIVASAN,G, SUTHAR,KM, SISODIA,MS, JHA,S and BISCHOFF,A (2002) Itawa Bhopji (L3-5) chondrite regolith breccia: fall, classification, and cosmogenic records. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 37, 549-563 [Itawa Bhopji (L3-5)].

DHINGRA,D, BHANDARI,N, SHUKLA,PN, MURTY,SVS, MAHAJAN,RR, BALLABH,GM, LASHKARI,G, SHUKLA,AD and PARTHASARATHY,G (2004) Spectacular fall of the Kendrapara H5 chondrite. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 39, A121-132 (a fireball and fall event in coastal Orissa, on 27 September 2003).

GHOSH,S and CHATTOPADHYAY,B (2001) Estimation of metamorphic temperature in chondrites. Geol.Surv.India Records 134 part 2, 15 (study of nine Indian stones: Bori - Pirthalla - Ekh Khera - Pokhra - Nammianthal - Chandpur - Dandapur - Seoni - Ramnagar).

GHOSH,S, BANDYOPADHYAY,TK, PANT,NC, SHOME,S, SEN,DK and RAJAWAT,RS (2001) Devri-Khera: a new L6 chondrite. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 36 no.9, A241-245 [Devri-Khera L6 chondrite].

GHOSH,S, MURTY,SVS, SHUKLA,PN, SHUKLA,AD, MAHAJAN,RR, BHANDARI,N, PANT,NC, GHOSH,JB and SHOME,S (2002) Fall, classification and cosmogenic records of the Sabrum (LL6) chondrite. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 37, 439-448 [Sabrum LL6 chondrite].

GROSSMAN,JN and ZIPFEL,J (2001) The Meteoritical Bulletin, No.85, 2001 September. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 36 no.9, A293-322 [Dergaon H5 chondrite (Assam, northeast India, fall, 02 March 2001, 12.5 kg) and the fall dates of the Devri-Khera and Lohawat meteorites, which (p.A295) both fell in Rajasthan on the night of 30 October 1994, separated by several hours and about 500 km].

MOHANTY,M and SAHOO,KC (2004) Meteoritic shower in Orissa. J.Geol.Soc.India 63, 231 (Kendrapara: nominal mass at least 6.918 kg).

MURTY,SVS, RAI,VK, SHUKLA,AD, SRINIVASAN,G, SHUKLA,PN, SUTHAR,KM, BHANDARI,N and BISCHOFF,A (2004) Devgaon (H3) chondrite: classification and complex cosmic ray exposure history. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 39, 387-399 (the Devgaon meteorite fall in Bastar district [Chattisgarh, eastern Madhya Pradesh] on 12 February 2001 - a notable H3 ordinary chondrite with some silica-rich bodies and CAI - olivines are quite equilibrated [Fa_17-19] but pyroxenes are unequilibrated [Fs_4-20).

PALIWAL,BS, MAHAJAN,RR, MURTY,SVS, SHUKLA,AD, SHUKLA,PN, BHANDARI,N, NATARAJAN,R, HUTCHISON,R, RUSSELL,S and FRANCHI,IA (2001) Chemical and isotopic characteristics of the Didwana-Rajod (H5) chondrite. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 36, 1249-1256 [Didwana-Rajod H5 chondrite].

VERMA,HC, JEE,K and TRIPATHI,RP (2003) Systematics of Mossbauer absorption areas in ordinary chondrites and applications to a newly fallen meteorite in Jodhpur, India. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 38, 963-967 (on 06 June 2002: a fall occurred at Bhawad village near Jodhpur in Rajasthan: a single stone of 670 g, classified by Mossbauer spectra as an LL chondrite - probably an LL6).

Document last revised 16 June 2001 / 31 May 2002 / 13 June 2005 / 07 April 2006
(this last only for the inclusion of the Met.Bull. note).

Return to Introduction

Visit the Meteoritical Bulletin Database