Jakarta, Rakyatterkini.com – A massive asteroid impact in the North Sea approximately 43 to 46 million years ago triggered a colossal tsunami, leaving behind a significant underwater crater. Recent research has definitively confirmed that the Silverpit Crater was formed by this asteroid collision.
The crater, located roughly 700 meters beneath the seabed about 130 kilometers off the coast of Yorkshire, England, was first detected in 2002. For years, scientists debated its origins, considering possibilities ranging from asteroid impacts to underground salt movements and other geological activity. Now, findings from Heriot-Watt University demonstrate the impact was caused by an asteroid approximately 160 meters in diameter.
Researchers analyzed the latest seismic imaging data and rock samples from nearby oil wells to reach their conclusions. “The new seismic imaging gives us a much clearer picture of the crater than we’ve ever had before,” said Dr. Uisdean Nicholson of Heriot-Watt University, according to Science Daily. The team also discovered rare “shocked quartz” and feldspar crystals, which form only under extreme pressure – a hallmark of asteroid impacts.
The impact itself would have been incredibly powerful. Analysis suggests the asteroid struck the seafloor at a low angle from the west, creating a plume of rock and water reaching approximately 1.5 kilometers in height before collapsing back into the sea and generating a tsunami exceeding 100 meters. Understanding past impact events like this is crucial for assessing potential future risks and refining our understanding of Earth’s geological history.
“Finding these minerals is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Nicholson added. The research, published on September 20, 2025, in the journal Nature Communications, is titled “Multiple lines of evidence for a hypervelocity impact origin for the Silverpit Crater.” The preservation of such craters is rare due to ongoing geological processes like erosion and plate tectonics, making this discovery particularly significant.
