In 1986 the Wahiba was declared to be a "model desert" for scientific purposes, representative of the other deserts of the world, which are less accessible and more difficult to investigate. Between January and April, an interdisciplinary research team, unique at the time, was formed from 35 scientists under the aegis of the Royal Geographical Society and the government of the Sultanate. The Omani army provided the scientists with the necessary logistical support. In all 500 people took part in the project. The results justified the expenditure. The comprehensive research they carried out showed that it contains almost every form of dune known; there are more than 20 types.

The northern part of the Wahibah is dominated by mighty, parallel-layered, reddish dunes that can be up to 200 metres in height, which then give way to white, sickle-shaped dunes in the southern part. Beneath the drifting sands that can be seen today is a giant sea of fossilised dunes which is several metres thick in some parts of the desert and on the coast at Ras ar-Ruways, where this bizarrely formed layer is exposed. It is the largest known geological formation of its type.

In the middle of the Wahiba, researchers found areas that were free of sand, where there were trees and interesting fauna and flora. Above all, the dunes in the North and the eastern edge near the coast, known as the woodlands, are extraordinarily rich in vegetation. Altogether 130 different species of plants and over 200 species of animals were identified, amongst them various species of gazelle, the white-tailed mungo, desert foxes and insects, not to mention reptiles. The creatures obtain the water necessary to life either from the large, primeval ground water reservoir beneath the desert in the Northeast or also daily from the heavy morning dew, resulting from the proximity of the sea