Meteorites from the Sahara: Find locations, shock classification, degree of weathering and pairing

The Sahara is an extraordinary area for recovering meteorites. Between 1989 and 1993, 471 meteorites were collected in Algeria and Libya. Studies of 465 samples have been done. In addition to the classifications of the meteorites that were published in various “Meteoritical Bulletins” in past years, we present here the results on the determination of the shock metamorphism and the degree of weathering. Also, we have tried to solve the pairing problem by considering the find locations, the degree of shock metamorphism, the degree of weathering, and the mineral compositions of olivine and pyroxene. A comprehensive table listing all samples contains references about previous work on these meteorites.