Meteorites of Sahara

Abstract

The number of meteorites collected in the North African Sahara Desert is very relevant, as their conservation is facilitated by the dry climate, thus it represents one of the most important regions to recover rocks from space, along with Antarctica, Atacama and the great deserts of North America. However, more than 90% of the desert surface feasibly preserving important meteorites is estimated to be not yet explored. New finds are classified annually, and countries such as Mauritania, Mali and Egypt are emerging. The most optimistic forecasts suggest that many new meteorites will continue to be extracted from the great Sahara Desert in the coming decades. Collecting and preserving them properly is essential to bequeath to science such important research materials such as meteorites.