Micrometeorites

The particles I find in the sediments from the deep water sometimes look like "dirty". I wondered if this could be a layer of calcium carbonate. 1500 meters deep is quite above the Calcium Carbonate Compensation Depth (CCD). T he water is oversaturated in disolved calcium carbonate and this leads to a slow precipitation at the bottom. A possible solution would be cleaning the micrometeorites candidates with chloridric acid in low concentration. Fortunately the Calcium Carbonate reacts strongly with any acid and produces carbon  dioxide (gas) and dissolved calcium chloride. Here is a first attempt. I see part of the yellowish deposit is actually Calcium Carbonate but it is not only that. Between the strips of this possibly barred olivine micrometeorite, the yellowish/brownish color is apparently not Calcium Carbonate.

The deep sea sediments I recovered at -1500m do contain very nice micrometeorites. But not many. So it is important to use the right equipment in order to be effective when looking for MM. Here are some new devices I have made. An extremely powerful (and dangerous) magnet is kept only a few millimeters above the sediments to select only magnetic particles. I also made some tools to help me to check all magnetic particle with the microscope. Here are the results: Pretender one Pretender two According to their shape and texture, one of these is a nice micrometeorite from the space. The other one is only a pretender, probably an impostor. Would you spot them? You can answer below. Your knowledge in this matter (if any) is welcome. By the way, I would like to recommend a nice and instructive video about what NOT to do when discarding an imposter. Enjoy. Please feel free to share this post on social media if you liked it.