Mahout Impact crater in Central Desert of Oman

Impact craters are not so obvious on Earth, and, in most cases, they are hard to spot. A requirement for the confirmation of an impact structure on Earth is the finding and characterization of diagnostic indicators for shock metamorphism, such as shatter cones, planar deformation features in minerals (PDFs), high-pressure mineral glasses, high-pressure mineral phases, and/or anomalies in platinum-group elements (e.g. iridium) or isotopic anomalies (e.g. osmium). Shocked grains will show planar microstructures that formed upon shock compression and are crystallographically controlled. Planar microstructures are mainly of two types: (1) planar fractures, which are planar, parallel, thin open fissures; (2) planar deformation features, which are narrow, individual planes of amorphous material comprising straight, parallel sets spaced 2?10 ?m apart that generally occur as multiple sets per grain. In this research we identified a simple impact crater within the central desert of Oman. Preliminary investigations show that the crater is a true impact craters as evidenced by structure, deformation, mineralogy and chemistry. Through this research we will carry our detailed geological and geophysical investigation on this important structure. The Mahout impact crater can be considered as a type-structure for small scale impacts on the earth due to its exceptional preservation. The crater is unique in its shape and preservation. The crater will be an important new geosite for local internal and external visitors as well as for educational and scientific research worldwide.