Hap,

I have sent you copies of my graphs and some other stuff. I have been able to determine that the Frass rock has two separate types of lava included in the rock. The first type is the grayish part which is K-Ar dated at 12.9 ma. The other is the reddish color rock and it has now been dated at 49 ma.

The rock on the left is the gray rock and the one on the right is the "red" rock. In my opinion, the gray rock has never been wet while the red rock shows signs of small amounts of water, but it has never been tumbled in a stream, even though it is surrounded by sand and a clay like substance. The red rock must have sat in that stream for some part of 36 million years, and barely got wet. As evidence, look at the small delicate "ledges" that stick out from the rock.

As far as the chemistry goes, if this rock is only 13 ma and from Mars, then it would represent the end result of the evolution of volcanic systems on this planet. Wouldn't it have time for its chemistry to approach that of Earthly systems? It is strange to me that the chemistry is so linear. This has to mean that the two rocks and all the sand have come from the same source material. Earthly systems would get contaminated by outside sources long before they could arrive at this linear nature. Also, the range of values in almost every graph matches the range of over 60 Earthly volcanoes. I think this is because Mars represents more regional chemistry than does Earth. The planet doesn't have as much energy to work with and systems there have tended to be stable and regional for much longer periods than the Earth has ever seen. As an example, Mars has the solar systems largest volcano, surely a sign of a stable system. I think the activity has decreased over time and has either just stopped, or is still slightly active. As I view the photo of the likely site for the "new" Martian material, it seems to me that there has been volcanic activity since the asteroid strike at the edge of the volcano. It looks to me that this crater has been modified and that hills have been uplifted since the ejection event. If this event occurred only 3 or 4 ma, then it would mean that the activity has continued for most of the planet's history and that would sure be consistent with what I have viewed in the contents of the rock.

Please just look at this stuff with an open mind and help me if you can to determine some "cheap" test that will confirm this rock as Martian or not. I would argue that the values in the graphs are Martian, but some have just gotten into Earthly ranges. I have additional arguments that I believe can explain the chemistry, but I sure could use some help. The age of the red rock completely excludes "local" volcanoes since they didn't start until 36 ma. I am sure this rock fell from the sky, but it is so "irregular" as a meteorite, that I have really had trouble getting anyone to believe me. I am an honorable person and all I seek is the truth. Please think about this thing because, if it is from Mars, then our information about this planet is going to expand exponentially.

Your friend,

micromike