Omani-Swiss meteorite search project underway

Muscat: A team from the Public Authority for Mining (PAM), in collaboration with Natural History Museum in Swiss and  the University of Bern, recently started search for Omani meteorites. The mission which started in January will continue mid-February. The Omani-Swiss meteorite search project was initiated to study in detail the unique meteorite accumulation in Oman and increase the awareness for this natural heritage of Oman. Main questions addressed in the project are the weathering of meteorites related to their terrestrial age, the abundance of meteorite types, the abundance of meteorites on different surfaces, a statistical comparison of the Oman meteorite collection with observed falls and other hot and cold desert populations, and the detailed investigation of rare meteorites. Five search campaigns collected 4,400 numbered meteorite samples with a mass of 3,500 kg. These samples represent about 300 fall events. A total of 352 pieces of meteorites were found in 2017, weighing about 53kg, bringing the total of meteorites discovered in Oman to 6,558, with a total weight of 4,775kg, according to the Public Authority for Mining (PAM).