THE WATERVILLE METEORITE IIAn investigation of the Waterville Strewnfield

Waterville, Washington By Delbert S. Duncan and Julieta G. Duncan

Introduction The Waterville meteorite was found in 1917 i on the Fred Fachnie farm near Waterville, Washington. There have been limited studies made of this meteorite, but none have addressed the possibility of there being a strewnfield for the meteorite. It has been determined that the establishment that a strewnfield exists would enhance the knowledge base, and lead to a better understanding of the Waterville meteorite ii. The following investigation may determine the existence of the Waterville meteorite strewnfield.

A strewnfield is the footprint of the impact area of the meteorite. The meteorite can impact earth as a shower that contains debris that entered our atmosphere with the meteorite, and material that abated from the meteorite along its trajectory to the impact zone. The establishment of the limits of the strewnfield may add to our knowledge of direction of travel, and angle of decent of this meteorite. The determination that a strewnfield exists may, over time, lead to the discovery of additional material from this meteorite. ****************************** Search Procedure The Waterville meteorite was found in the NW Sec. 7, T.26 N., R. 24 E., W.M., in Douglas County, Washington. A more precise location for this find site is: Lat. 47 46' 04.08" N., Long. 119 52' 34.68" W.. This location was graphically established from mapping provided by a published paper on the Withrow meteorite. iii This geographical point will establish the starting point for the search. The search objective is to establish the limits of the strewnfield for the Waterville meteorite. This objective will be accomplished by collecting microscopic iron particles from the areas around the starting point, and testing these particles for nickel. The primary elements found in the Waterville meteorite are: iron, copper, nickel, and cobalt. iv Copper and cobalt are somewhat common in terrestrial mineral material, but nickel is not as abundant. Microscopic iron particles containing nickel, and found near the starting point, will give a strong indication of meteorite debris from the Waterville meteorite. A positive nickel test at the starting point will also indicate the testing procedure is adequately sensitive to reveal microscopic meteorite debris. The collecting of iron particle samples, and testing of same, will continue along a given course until samples begin to test negative for nickel. This point will be located, and the procedure will begin again at the starting point, and precede along a course ninety degrees to the last course. The establishment of a series of points around the starting point where nickel is no longer found in the iron particles will determine the strewnfield. The objective of finding microscopic iron particles over a relatively large area can best be accomplished using powerful rare earth magnets attached to a walking staff, or a magnetic sweep. The neodymium magnets used in this search were 16 to 160 pound magnets (i.e. the force required to pull the magnet from a machined flat steel plate). These magnets were utilized on both a magnetic sweep, and a walking staff. The magnets were covered with plastic bags to ensure a clean magnet in each geographic area searched, and to prevent cross contamination from other areas. Sample material collected from the magnets is placed in a clean plastic bag, and marked for location, and date recovered. Testing Samples The bagged sample material is first graded, and cleaned by washing the material through a 40 sieve, and a 230 sieve. All material passing the 230 sieve is collected in the wash pan, and retained for processing. The sample material at this stage contains a significant amount of magnetite, which is ferromagnetic, and native to the underlying basalt bedrock. There is also a significant amount of metallic iron particles that are terrestrial, and probably come from the farm machinery that has been working in these fields for over one hundred years. It is necessary to concentrate the iron particles that might be from the Waterville meteorite from the magnetite, and terrestrial iron. Since the iron particles from the Waterville meteorite have a higher specific gravity, they can be concentrated by washing them using a small glass plate shaped like a gold pan. This process works much like panning for gold. The heavy particles are retained while everything else is washed away. These heavy iron particles are dried, and placed on a clean piece of white paper. The particles that are strongly ferromagnetic are pulled out of the sample by running a 2 pound magnet under the paper. It is important to use a magnet with light force at this

stage so the magnetite is not drawn into the collected sample material. The particles drawn out of the sample material can be examined more closely using a loupe, or by placing them on a glass microscope slide, and closely examining them with the microscope. Iron particles that appear to be meteorite debris should be collected, and chemically tested for nickel. All meteoritic iron, as far as recognized, is alloyed with nickel. Iron meteorites v (siderites) are composed of about 70% to 90% iron and 30% to 5% nickel. The Waterville meteorite kamacite contains about 6.83% nickel, and the taenite contains about 38.52% nickel. vi The iron particles that are collected, and will be tested, may have only a single microscopic particle that is actually from the Waterville meteorite. This may reduce the amount of nickel in the sample material to 75 ppm, or less. This reduction in the percent of nickel will change the color of the nickel dimethylglyoxime in the chemical test from the scarlet red shown above to a more pink color. The chemical test for nickel used in this procedure is taken from Mining Extension Bulletin No. 1, University of Alaska. "To test the mineral for nickel you must first grind it very finely. Mix ground mineral with 2 to 3 times its volume of soda (sodium carbonate), and place a small portion of the mixture in a small depression in your charcoal. Fuse this mixture by using the hot blue lame. When the mixture is fused turn it over and fuse it on the other side. When the fusion has cooled, carefully place it in a test tube. Then add a little nitric acid and heat (ADDED: nitric acid is diluted 1/3 concentrated nitric acid and 2/3 distilled water. Heat until sample is dissolved). Allow to cool, and then add ammonium hydroxide in sufficient quantity to raise the PH of the acid solution to about a 9 (ADDED: A precipitate of ferric hydroxide will then be formed if iron is present. This is a dark red jelly-like substance that will settle in the test tube, and will cling to the sides of the test tube, and will seal the ammonium hydroxide from the acid solution. Stir the solution with a glass stirring rod until the solution is well mixed. When the mixture has cooled, a clear liquid will form at the top of the tube. Decant this clear liquid into a clean test tube through a filter). Then add ten to twenty drops of dimethylglyoxime solution, and a scarlet precipitate, or scarlet jelly-like substance will form at the top of the tube. BE SURE THAT IT IS NOT JUST A COLORED SOLUTION THAT YOU SEE IT MUST BEA SCARLET COLORED SOLID SUBSTANCE FLOATING IN THE LIQUID (ADDED: When dimethylglyoxime solution is added to the clear solution a stark opaque white precipitate will instantly form. If nickel is present, tiny scarlet red dots will begin to form in the white precipitate. These tiny red dots will turn the white precipitate pink, and as the amount of nickel present increases the pink color will begin to turn more red." vii It is important to establish the coloration of the above test when testing material from an iron meteorite. This will provide a standard that can be used during subsequent testing of possible meteorite particles. The example to the right was a test run on the Henbury meteorite, Iron IIIAB, with about 7.47% nickel. The light pink floating precipitate indicates that nickel is present. This test was repeated using an extended time in the hot nitric acid to dissolve a greater amount of the iron nickel material. This pink coloration has

become more red using this procedure. The floating precipitate that is dark pink is an indication of nickel being present. The dark red material on the side of the test tube is ferric hydroxide, and should not be confused with the nickel indicator. This test shows that it is necessary to leave the sample material in the hot acid until all the metallic material has been dissolved. The particles that are selected for the chemical testing are a relatively small portion of the sample material. To select these particles requires close observation of the sample material using good magnification, and excellent lighting. This selection process also requires an understanding of the minerals contained in the Waterville meteorite. The two predominant metallic minerals in the Waterville meteorite are taenite, and kamacite. Taenite is a metallic silvery mineral that is iron with 25%, or more, nickel. This metal is ferromagnetic, and hard. Taenite is more difficult to dissolve in acid because of its high nickel content. It will also appear as thin ridges on an etched piece of the Waterville meteorite because it will not dissolve as easily, in the etching process, as the kamacite. Kamacite is also a silvery metallic mineral that is iron with about 6.8% nickel in the Waterville meteorite. This metal is also ferromagnetic, and should be the most abundant meteorite particle that is found in the sample material. In addition to the above nickel iron minerals this meteorite contains some metallic particles that are signature to meteorite debris. The outer bands of the Waterville meteorite contain a large number of inclusions where an abundance of metallic minerals, such as troilite and schreibersite exist. In the above photograph of an inclusion in the Waterville meteorite the troilite and schreibersite appear brassy, or gold colored within the inclusion. Troilite is an iron sulfide mineral that is not ferromagnetic, so it will not be picked up during a sweep using magnets. Schreibersite (Fe,Ni)3P is an iron-nickel phosphide metallic mineral, and is strongly ferromagnetic. The brassy, or gold coloration of schreibersite, makes this mineral stand out in particles made up of dark colored magnetite. Finding a schreibersite particle in the sample material is a strong indication that the search is in the strewnfield area. Gold colored pyrite is also common as a native mineral in this area, but pyrite is another iron sulfide, and is not ferromagnetic. Schreibersite will give a positive test for nickel using the chemical test outlined previously. Carbon that is found in the Waterville meteorite is graphite. This mineral is not ferromagnetic, and will only be found in the sample specimens of this meteorite.

Sample material that is retained on the 40 sieve sometimes will have particles that appear to be iron, and may be from the meteorite. These particles can be chemically tested for nickel individually, and if found to contain nickel, used as an example of what to look for in the sample material. Meteorite debris appears in many colors, and shapes The particle in the photograph to the left is black with portions of the main body melted out and folded back on itself to form a "Jug Handle". This particle also has an area along the top that has coloration that indicates a fusion crust. Along the side and across the area near the jug handle there are ripples in the metal that appear almost like an arc weld. These represent flow lines in the metal. This piece tested positive for nickel, and gives a strong indication that it is from the Waterville meteorite. The next particle is somewhat larger, and is not similar to the jug handle. These two particles show a contrast of how debris from the meteorite may appear different. The second particle also tested positive for nickel.

Sample material is most often a combination of particles that are microscopic, and are too small to be tested as individuals. The chemical test on these particles will show when nickel is present, and grouping particles from a given geographical area, when testing is performed, will allow the test results to be associated with the correct location.

Nickel Test Result Table

Description Location Date Nickel ============================================================================================= Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Inner Find Site Circle 06/05/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Inner Find Site Circle 06/05/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Inner Find Site Circle 06/05/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Jug Handle Individual Iron Particle Outer Find Site Circle 06/05/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Outer Find Site Circle 06/06/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ **Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Sample Area No. 1 05/25/2011 No _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Outer Find Site Circle 06/06/2012 No _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Outer find Site Circle 06/06/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Iron Particle No. 1 Individual Red Corner 06/06/2012 No _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Red Corner 06/06/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Red Corner 06/06/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 40 (-) / 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Sample Area No. 1 05/25/2011 No _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Waterville Big Iron Individual Outer Find Site Circle 06/06/2012 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ * Grade 230 (+) Ferromagnetic Particles Sample Area No. 1 05/25/2011 Yes _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Grade 230 (-) Ferromagnetic Particles Outer Find Site Circle 06/06/2012 No ============================================================================================= * ALS Minerals, 4977 Energy Way, Reno, NV 89502. Certificate RE11119775. ICP-AES test is an inductively Coupled Plasma with Atomic Emission Spectroscopy for selected elements. ** University of Washington Micro-Probe test for nickel.

The designated search area, and the find site location are shown on the following aerial photograph. The preceding table indicates the location on this photograph where sample material was collected. Sample material is collected in a random manner across the full designated area.

Conclusion The main objective of this study is to determine if there is a strewnfield associated with the Waterville meteorite. The results of the testing program shown in the previous table indicate that ten, of the fifteen tests recorded, were positive for nickel. That is a strong indication that this meteorite does, in fact, have a strewnfield. Sample material that was examined under the microscope at 640x, shows particles of schreibersite. Schreibersite is a rare terrestrial mineral, but is common in iron meteorites. Finding particles of schreibersite in the designated search area is also a strong indication that the Waterville meteorite has a strewnfield. The second objective of this study was to establish the limits of the strewnfield, if it were found to exist. This task was not completed, and will require additional effort. Sample Area No. 1 was found to be an area where many of the tests for nickel were negative. ALS Minerals conducted seven tests for nickel, on material from Sample Area No.1, and only one was positive. One chemical test for nickel was conducted in house, on material from this area, and it was negative. The laboratory at the University of Washington also tested a sample, from this area, with negative results. These results suggest that this area might be near the edge of the strewnfield for the meteorite.

There is a strong possibility that the find site is not centered in strewnfield. It may also be possible that the mass found in 1917 was not the main mass, but was only one piece that was distributed near the edge of the strewnfield. Additional work should be done to establish the limits of this strewnfield. This effort could lead to the discovery of more meteorite material associated with the Waterville meteorite.

Grizzle, E.D. 1963, The Waterville Meteorite Shower, The Observer,24, No. 9 & by direct interview by Ellen D. Grizzle with Fachnie family. ii Duncan, Delbert S., and Julieta G., The Waterville Meteorite, unpublished, on file at the Douglas County Museum 2011. iii Withrow A New Iron Meteorite from the State of Washington; William F. Read, Department of Geology, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin; Ellen D. Grizzle and Walter M. Grizzle, The Grizzle Observatory, East Wenatchee, Washington. METEORITICS, Vol. 3, No. 4, December, 1967. iv Mineralogical and Chemical Investigation of the Waterville Meteorite by Helmut H. Weinke and W. Kiest of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, University of Vienna, and R.S. Clarke, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. (Division of Meteorites). v From http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/gif/1945PA..5341./0000041.000.html vi Mineralogical and Chemical Investigation of the Waterville Meteorite by Helmut H. Weinke and W. Kiest of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, University of Vienna, and R.S. Clarke, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. (Division of Meteorites). vii Determinative Mineralogy For The Alaska Prospector by Albert S. Wilkerson; University of Alaska, College of Earth Sciences and Mineral Industry 1938. Publication of the College of Earth Sciences and Mineral Industry, University of Alaska; College, Alaska.