Showing posts with label Joinville Island Group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joinville Island Group. Show all posts

Tuesday, 4 June 2024

Another airburst, this time near a fragile area

After a slow start to the year, we have had 7 airbursts in a month. 

2024, June 3. Antarctica, approximately 155 km W.N.W of Petrel Base, Joinville Island Group. Airburst. e = 2.6, -e = 0.092. Altitude = 60km. Lucky for the rich wildlife here the meteor burst was high and on the lower end of energy yield. This area is under attack from avian flu, so this is the last thing they need. This is the type of airburst I fear most, near fragile ecosystems. Imagine if this was larger and a different time of year for whales, over a seal colony or penguin nesting flock. Even though this is a high detonation they can still cause concussion for birds on the wing, eg Albatross or Petrels. If animals are already stressed this could be a tipping point. Due to this a marine animal disturbance watch should be noted for the region.


Before the Beached Pods: The 33-Kiloton Sulawesi Airburst of October 2009

I've been working on the year 2009 for meteor and cetacean stranding links and the next post will concern this. However, it always astou...