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Muscat: The desert plains in southern and central Oman are promising areas for the collection of many rare meteorite specimens. The gravel plains in the Dhofar and Al Wusta regions of Oman, south of the sandy deserts of the Rub' Al Khali, have yielded about 5,000 meteorites, as of mid-2009. Included among these are a large number of lunar and Martian meteorites, making Oman a particularly important area, both for scientists and collectors.
Prof Subhi Nasser, Head of the Department of Earth Science, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), along with colleagues from Oman and Canada, have begun a research project funded by His Majesty's Strategic Research Trust Fund, which involves characterising and classifying a collection of Omani meteorites through detailed geochemical, mineralogical and petrological analysis.
Prof Subhi Nasser said that meteorites are the remnant fragments from the formation of the solar system. "By examining a meteorite, we are looking at the chemical composition of the solar system as it was being born. In recent years, Oman has been identified as one of the world centers of meteorite discoveries. In 2011, the Sultanate contributed some 14 per cent of all the world's meteorite finds, excluding Antarctica," he added.
"Scientists are still building their knowledge of our planet and solar system, thanks to Omani meteorite finds. The broad spectrum of Omani meteorites and their exceptional preservation make them key research tools that can enhance our understanding of the beginning of the solar system."
The recent discovery of several rare meteorites, including a host of Martian and Lunar rocks in the deserts of Oman, has lent international recognition to the Sultanate as a promising destination for scientific study.
The idea of the discovery of, and studying, meteorites in Oman's deserts came about following the recovery of 142 meteorites during a two-week expedition to Oman's deserts of central and southern region organised by the Ministry of Commerce in January 2009.
The expedition concluded that Oman could justifiably boast of some of the largest and most spectacular meteorite collection areas in the world. The central and southern deserts of Oman are flat, making them relatively easy for meteorite-searchers to explore, while the sand and carbonate rocks are plentiful in the desert landscape, being light in colour, and provide a contrast to the dark color that characterise meteorites.
Precious meteorites
Since the year 2000, several precious meteorites have been discovered in Oman. The most prized finds among them were Martian meteorites, which have opened a window to the red planet.
Martian meteorites from Oman's deserts offered new and extremely cost-effective avenues for research of the red planet until Mars Odyssey 2001 successfully brought back rocks from the red planet, after about 10 years, on its return to Earth. Initial surveys indicated that the many precious rocks found in Oman are a treasure trove of not only the earth's geological history, but also of neighbouring planets and satellites, such as Mars and the Moon. Dhofar is also emerging as an important area for meteorite collections.
Prof. Subhi Nasser said that one Martian and two Moon meteorites have been found in Dhofar, so far, among a host of other precious extraterrestrial rocks.
"Dhofar-081, a lunar meteorite, was found on November 29, 1999. The presence of a rare Martian meteorite, named Sayh al Uhaymir 094 (SaU 094) and found in a central Oman desert, along with many other rare rocks, confirmed that the meteorite density in interior Oman is unusually high — more than one meteorite per square kilometre," he added.
The Office of the Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs has a collection of more than 100 meteorites. SQU is collaborating with the Office of the Advisor to HM and with Alberta University, Canada, to uncover the secrets inherent in Omani meteorites.
A major thrust of SQU's research project is to learn to classify Omani meteorites and characterise them through detailed mineralogical, isotope and geochemical study.
Specialist studies will determine their textures, compositions and ages using the latest in high technology.
Prof. Subhi Nasser noted that the research group was able to carry out a detailed study on 17 meteorite samples, in collaboration with Dr. Chris Herd and Dr. Graham Pearson from the University of Alberta.
Additionally, detailed petrographic, geochemical, mineralogical and textural studies have been performed on these samples. "We were able to classify these meteorites and assigned official names for each one. These names have been approved by the Meteorite Society. This is an essential step in recognising these meteorites internationally and will enable us to publish the results in the future," he said.
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