Rock art and archaeoastronomy in Morocco: preliminary observations

The purpose of this paper is to make public the exceptional discovery in the province of Essaouira (Morocco) of three petroglyphs engraved with an original subject in Moroccan rock art. By incision, astronomical, anthropomorphic, zoomorphic figures with Tifinagh inscriptions are engraved. The distribution and the nature of the engraved subjects evoke, most probably, a testimony with a material document on a natural disaster caused most likely by the fall of a great meteorite contributing, thus; to the understanding of the Ancient History of natural disasters in Morocco

Nondestructive characterization of ornamental rocks with ultrasound

Because of their esthetic, mechanical and thermic properties, marble and granite are the most used ornamental rock for the construction of buildings. In the last years the characterization of these materials received a high scientific and practical attention. Yet the actually disposable methods of inspection are sometimes inadequate, expensive and destructive. Under all the newly developed methods the ultrasound method appears to be the most attractive because it allows to determine the physical properties of marble and granite in a nondestructive, nonexpensive and practical way. For this purpose we used two identical piezoelectric transducers with a central frequency of 5 MHz in order to measure the transmission of ultrasound through rock samples for determing their ultrasound parameters, i.e. the longitudinal and transversal velocity as well as the damping of ultrasound waves inside the rock samples. We present also a discussion of the factors, which are responsible for the variation of the velocity and the damping of the ultrasound waves. We also studied, if it would be possible to use the dispersion of Lamb modes as a new alternative for replacing the ordinary destructive tests used by geologists (thin sections, electron microprobe, rock powder etc.) with a nondestructive ultrasound technique in order to classify rocks. Our work confirmed that the velocity and damping of ultrasound waves in marble and granite might be used efficiently as criteria for estimating the mechanical properties of these materials

New Mars Meteorite Fall in Marocco: Final Strewn Field

The Tissint fireball is the only fireball to have been observed and reported by numerous witnesses across the south-east of Morocco. The event was extremely valuable to the scientific community; show an extraordinary and rare event and were also the brightest and most comprehensively observed fireball in Morocco’s known astronomical history. Since the abstract of A. Ibhi (2011) [1]. In 2012-2013 concerning a number of Martian meteorite fragments found in the region of Tata (Morocco), a number of expeditions have been made to the area. A. ibhi has done a great amount of field work. He discovered the strewn field and collected the fragments of this Martian meteorite and many information. Each expedition has had the effect of expanding the size of the strewn field which is now documented to cover more than 70 sq. kilometers. The size of the strewn field is now estimated to be about a 17 km long.</jats:p

Meteors and Meteorite Falls in Morocco

During the last eighty years, thirteen meteorite falls were recorded in Morocco, which ten are well documented and named Douar Mghila, Oued el Hadjar, Itqiy, Zag, Bensour, Oum Dreyga, Benguerir, Tamdakht, Tissint and Aoussred. It represent only 0.011% of the Moroccan declared meteorites.The authenticated observed falls represent three types of different meteorites, eight ordinary chondrites (Four of type LL, three of type H and one of type EH), one carbonaceous chondrite and one Shergottite basaltic achondrites. The Morocco meteorite fall recovery rate, during the past eighty years, is low 0.11 falls per year on average per 2.11 km2 (or approximately one fall recovery per 10 year time interval).</jats:p