As David introduced, new research has established that the Silverpit Crater is located at least 80 miles off the East Yorkshire coast. It was formed by an asteroid impact more than 43 million years ago. This major discovery gives unprecedented insight into the crater’s origins and continued impact of such celestial events on Earth.
The Silverpit Crater, 1.9 mi (3 km) in diameter, was found in 2002. It was the result of a 535-foot (160-meter) wide asteroid impacting the Earth. This alone would have produced a gigantic tsunami. Experts say it could have reached heights of up to 328 feet (100 meters), underlining the catastrophic impacts of tsunamis.
Dr. Uisdean Nicholson, an associate professor at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University, was the project lead on this innovative new study. The team used state-of-the-art seismic imaging techniques and laboratory rock sample analysis. This enabled them to discover how the Silverpit Crater was formed. Scanners that the team had recently developed for other projects, which Moore likened to “ultrasound for the earth,” were critical in helping map the hidden crater. This ancient crater now sits hidden under the fleeing seabed.
“We were exceptionally lucky to find these, a real needle-in-a-haystack effort,” said Dr. Nicholson. This evidence combined creates a strong body of work in favor of the impact crater hypothesis.
“These prove the impact crater hypothesis beyond doubt, because they have a fabric that can only be created by extreme shock pressures,” Dr. Nicholson explained.
Dr. Nicholson was quick to point out that craters such as Silverpit are extremely exceptional. There are only approximately 200 confirmed impact craters on land, and at least 33 have been identified under the oceans. That makes the Silverpit Crater an important find for understanding planetary history.
The consequences of this research reach much further than the Silverpit Crater. Dr. Nicholson stated, “We can use these findings to understand how asteroid impacts shaped our planet throughout history.” This recognition is consistent with other large impact occurrences. One of the better-known examples is the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, believed to have had a major hand in the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.