[ Les météorites Africaines classifiées "NorthWest Africa" : Un patrimoine en dissipation ]
Volume 24, Issue 3, October 2018, Pages 1166–1177
Lahcen Ouknine1, Fouad Khiri2, and Abderrahmane Ibhi3
1 Petrology, Metallogeny and Meteorites Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
2 Regional Centre for the Education and training, Inezgane, avenue My Abdallah P.O. Box 106, Inezgane, Morocco
3 Petrology, Metallogeny and Meteorites Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
Original language: French
Copyright © 2018 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
% of the meteorite finds in the Northwest of Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, and Algeria) were classified under the appellation "NWA" (Northwest Africa) followed by a number. The "NWA" meteorites include rare types that have outstanding scientific significance. The comparison of the temporal evolution of the numbers of meteorite finds in the Northwest region of Africa shows that the adoption of the acronym "NWA," in 2000, has decreased the classification of samples under the proper names of discovery places. Moreover, this denomination has an adverse impact on the meteorite heritage of the countries previously mentioned. In order to enhance this heritage, we have tried to historicize the 5678 meteorite finds "NWA" that were officially published until January 1, 2015. Thus, in addition to the 1180 official "NWA" meteorites whose source country was approved by the Meteorite Nomenclature Committee, we propose to the Committee the re-assignment of 3240 other meteorites to the four countries. Indeed (92%) comes from Morocco, 79 (2.5%) samples from Algeria, 34 (1.1%) from Mauritania and 12 (0.1%) from Mali. Still 1267 remaining "NWA" meteorites do not have information indicating the source country. This reveals that only 23% of NWA meteorites are undocumented while 77% of samples have information on their recovery place. In addition, the proposed nomenclature of meteorites "NWA," following the new Guidelines for meteorite nomenclature, will certainly value the meteorite heritage of the Northwest African countries.
Author Keywords: "NWA" meteorites, Classification, Database, Nomenclature, Northwest Africa.
Volume 24, Issue 3, October 2018, Pages 1166–1177
Lahcen Ouknine1, Fouad Khiri2, and Abderrahmane Ibhi3
1 Petrology, Metallogeny and Meteorites Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
2 Regional Centre for the Education and training, Inezgane, avenue My Abdallah P.O. Box 106, Inezgane, Morocco
3 Petrology, Metallogeny and Meteorites Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
Original language: French
Copyright © 2018 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
% of the meteorite finds in the Northwest of Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, and Algeria) were classified under the appellation "NWA" (Northwest Africa) followed by a number. The "NWA" meteorites include rare types that have outstanding scientific significance. The comparison of the temporal evolution of the numbers of meteorite finds in the Northwest region of Africa shows that the adoption of the acronym "NWA," in 2000, has decreased the classification of samples under the proper names of discovery places. Moreover, this denomination has an adverse impact on the meteorite heritage of the countries previously mentioned. In order to enhance this heritage, we have tried to historicize the 5678 meteorite finds "NWA" that were officially published until January 1, 2015. Thus, in addition to the 1180 official "NWA" meteorites whose source country was approved by the Meteorite Nomenclature Committee, we propose to the Committee the re-assignment of 3240 other meteorites to the four countries. Indeed (92%) comes from Morocco, 79 (2.5%) samples from Algeria, 34 (1.1%) from Mauritania and 12 (0.1%) from Mali. Still 1267 remaining "NWA" meteorites do not have information indicating the source country. This reveals that only 23% of NWA meteorites are undocumented while 77% of samples have information on their recovery place. In addition, the proposed nomenclature of meteorites "NWA," following the new Guidelines for meteorite nomenclature, will certainly value the meteorite heritage of the Northwest African countries.
Author Keywords: "NWA" meteorites, Classification, Database, Nomenclature, Northwest Africa.
Abstract: (french)
92% des trouvailles de météorites dans le Nord-ouest de l’Afrique (Algérie, Mali, Maroc et Mauritanie) ont été publiées sous l’appellation "NWA" (NorthWest Africa) suivie d’un chiffre. L’évolution temporelle de trouvailles de météorites dans le Nord-ouest de l’Afrique montre que l’adoption de l’appellation "NWA" en l’an 2000, a fait baisser la classification sous les noms de lieux officiels de découverte. Par ailleurs, cette dénomination engendre un impact négatif sur le patrimoine météoritique des pays précités. Afin de valoriser ce patrimoine, nous avons essayé de contextualiser les 5678 trouvailles de météorites "NWA" déclarées officiellement jusqu’au 1er janvier 2015 en définissant les circonstances de trouvaille de chaque échantillon. Ainsi, en plus des 1180 météorites "NWA" officielles dont le pays de trouvaille est approuvé par le Comité de nomenclature de la "Meteoritical Society", nous proposons au Comité la réaffectation de 3240 autres météorites aux 4 pays du Nord-ouest de l’Afrique à savoir : 2994 météorites (92%) sont issues du Maroc, 79 (2,5%) d’Algérie, 34 (1,1%) de Mauritanie et 12 (0,1%) du Mali. Néanmoins, 1267 météorites NWA restantes ne disposent pas d’informations indiquant le pays de trouvaille. Cela révèle que seulement 23% des météorites NWA ne sont pas documentées tandis que 77% des échantillons ont des données sur leurs lieux de collecte. Par ailleurs, la re-nomenclature proposée des météorites "NWA" valorisera certainement le patrimoine météoritique du Maroc et des autres pays du Nord-ouest de l'Afrique.
Author Keywords: Météorites, Classification, NWA, Réaffectation, Base de données, nomenclature, Nord-ouest de l’Afrique.
How to Cite this Article
Lahcen Ouknine, Fouad Khiri, and Abderrahmane Ibhi, “Meteorites classified "NorthWest Africa" : A dissipated heritage,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 1166–1177, October 2018.
