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Meteor Crater, Northern Arizona: Drill Hole Sample Collection, 1970-1973, and Curation, 2010-2013.

Metadata Updated: November 21, 2025

Meteor Crater, located in northern Arizona, is one of the best preserved and easily accessible impact sites on Earth. Scientific investigations of this crater have led to improvements in our understanding of impact mechanics, cratering dynamics, and ejecta distribution [e.g., 1-5]. In addition, this site has a rich history as a terrestrial analog that has been used for training astronauts, scientists, and engineers [e.g., 6-8]. In the 1970s Dr. David Roddy conducted a rotary drilling campaign at Meteor Crater, along the rim, flanks, and surrounding ejecta blanket [9]. This work resulted in 2,500 m of drill cuttings from 161 drill holes. The original samples were placed in sandwich-sized plastic bags with slips of paper that recorded drilling information (depth, hardness, losses) and sample notes [10]. They were stored in core boxes labeled with the drill hole number and footage interval. In 2008, a modern curation process was begun to properly document and store these invaluable samples, following procedures developed with guidance from the USGS Core Research Center. Samples were transferred to 200 mL polyethylene bags and placed in new, more durable storage boxes. All pertinent information from each sample bag was recorded in a digital database. For long-term archival purposes, 5 mL of representative material from each drill hole sample was placed in a separate 20 mL polyethylene bag labeled with the drill hole number and depth. Each archival sample was placed in a protective manila coin envelopes, labeled with drill hole number and depth. The archival sample collection is stored in a separate building from the full sample collection. The Meteor Crater Sample Collection is stored on the USGS Flagstaff campus. Images and sample data can be accessed electronically through the USGS Astrogeology website (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/astrogeology-science-center/science/terrestrial-analog-sample-collections?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects). This site includes an interactive map and links to drill hole documentation and database, as well as sample request forms. 1. Shoemaker, E. M. (1959) USGS OFR 59-108. 2. Shoemaker, E. M. (1963) In: Moon, Meteorites, and Comets, v. 4, p. 301-336. 3. Mittlefehldt, D. W. (2005) GSA Special Paper v. 384, p. 367-390. 4. Artemieva, N. and Pierazzo, E. (2009) Meteor. and Planet. Sci. v. 44, p. 25-42. 5. Artemieva, N. and Pierazzo, E. (2011) Meteor. and Planet. Sci. v. 46, p. 805-829. 6. Schaber, G. G. (2005) USGS OFR 2005-1190, 1161 p. 7. Kring, D. A. (2007) Lunar and Planetary Inst. 150 p. 8. Evans, C. A., et at. (2020) AGU Fall meeting, abstract #P063-01. 9. Roddy, D. J., et al. (1975) Proc. Lunar Sci. Conf. 6th, p. 2621-2644. 10. Hagerty, J. J. et al. (2010) Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, abstract #2213.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 21, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 21, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-63ef9989d34efa0476b037e2
Data Last Modified 2023-02-17T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 4a0133d4-3fa1-4488-8e2d-c5df5fec7297
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 06a174e783a92c53e44767772e924d11ce50874c396481f0c5dcdf8067eafd8e
Source Schema Version 1.1

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