The meteoritic record of Arabia

Abstract

Meteorites provide a wealth of information about the origin of the Earth and the Solar system. Systematic searches have proved successful in cold and hot desert areas. Meteorite finds are favoured in areas with light-coloured surfaces stable over tens of thousands of years and in hyper-arid climates. The deserts of Arabia are well suited for the search for meteorites. Following the first finds by explorers in the 1930s' and during oil exploration in the 1950s', a significant number of finds have been recorded from Oman since 1999 with >4000 meteorites currently recorded. Exploratory searches in Saudi Arabia have also shown significant potential for meteorite discoveries. A collaborative Omani-Swiss search project was initiated in 2001 and 23 search campaigns since have yielded more than 7300 samples, including meteorites from the Moon and Mars and,37 strewn fields. Arabia has the potential to become one of the key regions for meteorite recovery and future research. Only three confirmed (Wabar, Saqqar, Jebel Waqf as Suwwan), several suspected and some dubious impact structures have been reported. The Wabar impact locality in Saudi Arabia features impact craters in dune sands, shocked and melted sand and finds of several large meteorites.