Birger Schmitz, Barringer Medalist 2023

Awarding of Barringer Medal at MetSoc 2023, photo curtesy Barringer Crater Co.

It was a fascinating pleasure to attend the 2023 Barringer Medalist Birger Schmitz’ presentation at the Meteoritical Society annual conference in Los Angeles! He was awarded the honor due to his significant contribution to the field. The title of the presentation Spinels in Sediments and the Astronomical Perspective on Earth’s History — What Can 20 Tons of Rock and 40,000 Liters of Hydrochloric Acid Tell Us?

He discovered micrometeorites found in ancient sedimentary rock representing a large asteroid breakup event correlating to the Ordovician Ice Age cooling of earth and sea level fall!