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Shukla, P. N.; Shukla, A. D.; Rai, V. K.; Murty, S. V. S; Bhandari, N.; Goswami, J. N.; Mazumdar, A.C.; Phukon,, P.; Duorah, K.; Greenwood, R. and Franchi, I.
(2005).
URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/arizona/maps...
Abstract
A multiple fall of a stony meteorite occurred near the town of Dergaon in Assam, India, on March 2, 2001. Several fragments weighing <2 kg and a single large fragment weighing ∼10 kg were recovered from the strewn field, which extended over several tens of square kilometers. Chemical, petrographic, and oxygen isotopic studies indicate it to be, in most aspects, a typical H5 chondrite, except the unusually low K content of ∼340 ppm. A cosmic ray exposure of 9.7 Ma is inferred from the cosmogenic noble gas records. Activities of eleven cosmogenic radionuclides were measured. 26Al and 22Na activities as well as the 22Na/26Al activity ratio are close to the values expected on the basis of solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays. The low 60Co activity (<1 dpm/kg) is indicative of a small preatmospheric size of the meteorite. Cosmic ray heavy nuclei track densities in olivine grains range from ∼106 cm−2 in samples from the largest fragment to approximately (4–9) × 105 cm−2 in one of the smaller fragments. The combined track, radionuclide, and noble gas data suggest a preatmospheric radius of ∼20 cm for the Dergaon meteorite.