Asteroid Strike in North Sea Created 100-Meter Tsunami 43 Million Years Ago

Scientists have confirmed that the Silverpit Crater beneath the North Sea was created by a 160-meter-wide asteroid striking Earth 43 to 46 million years ago, triggering a tsunami over 100 meters high. The research team, led by Dr. Uisdean Nicholson of Heriot-Watt University, used advanced seismic imaging and discovered shocked quartz and feldspar crystals in oil well samples, providing definitive proof of the impact. The findings were published in Nature Communications. The crater, located 80 miles off Yorkshire, England, was first discovered in 2002 but its origins were debated for years. It is one of only about 33 confirmed underwater impact craters on Earth.