Research on Somalia's 15.150 tonne Iron Meteorite
Donation protected
Hi, I'm Nick. But first, please have a look at the profile we've assembled on EL ALI:
EL ALI in text and photos. EL ALI s officially described in the: METEORITICAL BULLETIN
EL ALI was found in Somalia, near the town of El Ali. It was moved to Mogadishu and is now for sale in China. The world cultural and natural heritage significance of this meteorite is what we are investigating, since its future is uncertain.
- EL ALI is the 9th largest meteorite in the world.
- EL ALI contains at least three new minerals not found on Earth.
- EL ALI, like the Cape York meteorites, shows signs of having been mined for meteoritic iron to make cutting tools since prehistoric times, inspiring my own presentation title, "Somalia's Iron Age begins with EL ALI."
- EL ALI's future is uncertain. A buyer may decide to curate and conserve it. A buyer may decide to cut it into slices and souvenirs. Like many others, inside Somalia and from afar, we believe this stone to be of "world natural and cultural heritage significance."
We are raising funds to support our Somali scientific colleagues' travel to join us in making presentations at the 86th Annual Conference of the METEORITICAL SOCIETY from August 13-18, 2023 to be held at UCLA in Los Angeles, and to assist them in their own field research:
- Eng Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein, Rector, Almaas University, Mogadishu, Somalia
- Eng Ali Hassan Egeh, Vice-Rector, Almaas University, Mogadishu, Somalia.
Our Somali colleagues will join our group of 5-6 scientists, who have been working up to 2-1/2 years on this project. This will be the world's first scientific conference presentation on EL ALI's status. Any amount we receive in excess of those travel funds will be expended on promotional materials at the conference, and on prehistoric and historic research through ethnohistory, archaeology and geology at the impact site and with local residents of the community. Field research in Somalia is often complicated by the competing authorities encountered in the countryside.
I am Nick Gessler, Ph.D., now retired from teaching at Duke University. In December 2020, I was contacted about the discovery of this iron and asked to verify its status as a meteorite by obtaining an official designation for it in the Meteoritical Bulletin of the International Meteoritical Society. Working with UCLA and the University of Alberta, we obtained its classification as a "IAB Complex Iron" meteorite with the official name EL ALI. Professor Chris Herd (University of Alberta) and I submitted the write-up for the Bulletin. Chris wrote the technical descriptions and I wrote the cultural and historical background. Please check out our team members on Facebook and other URLs.
We will endeavor to provide all donors to our project with a video of the proceedings.
The stone now sits in dark silence in a steel container in a warehouse in China.
We would like to give EL ALI a voice of its very own.
Thank you,
Nick
Organizer
Nicholas Gessler
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA