Science is wonderful. Thanks to it, we can discover information that would otherwise be impossible. According to the data analyzed, approximately 50 million years ago, an object passed through the atmosphere and crashed into the North Sea. Between what is now Great Britain and northwestern Europe, this object impacted, leaving a crater approximately one kilometer deep and three kilometers wide. Thus, the geological mystery of the Silverpit Crater, hidden beneath the North Sea, can be said to be solved.
Researchers are trying to resolve a decades-long dispute over the origins of the Silverpit crater
The known evidence suggests that the collision was so severe that it generated a tsunami more than 100 meters high, sending a column of debris and water skyward before crashing back down, triggering a tsunami that must have been devastating. Researchers are trying to resolve a decades-long dispute over the origins of the Silverpit crater, now buried 700 meters beneath the seafloor about 130 kilometers off the southeast coast of Great Britain.
Discovered in 2002 using 3D seismic data, the crater has been the subject of a long-running scientific debate
This conclusion, reached by scientists, is based on the materials found in the crater. These are “shocked” quartz and feldspar, minerals whose crystalline structure can only be altered by the extreme pressures and temperatures generated at the instant a celestial object collides with our planet. Discovered in 2002 using 3D seismic data, the crater has been the subject of a long-running scientific debate about its formation. Scientists initially described it as a “hypervelocity impact structure.” Therefore, the recent evidence is considered irrefutable by the scientific community and puts to rest any doubts about the origin of the mysterious circular structure that lies at the bottom of the North Sea.
Thanks to a team of researchers who used the most advanced technology to see what lies beneath the 700 meters of sediment
Scientists suggest that the crater’s orientation within the circular fault zone, as well as its circular shape and central peak, are consistent with high-speed impacts. Thanks to a team of researchers who used the most advanced technology to see, with unprecedented clarity, what lies beneath the 700 meters of sediment that have accumulated over millions of years, the crater’s origin has been confirmed.
Theories: the crater could have formed from below, either by underground salt movements or by volcanic activity
It’s important to note that these types of scientific controversies are not uncommon, as identifying these formations is complex, and sometimes structures thought to be ancient craters have turned out not to be. In fact, impact craters like this one are rare, as Nicholson acknowledges, and some researchers prefer other explanations. According to competing theories, the crater could have formed from below, either by underground salt movements or by volcanic activity. As can be seen, the resolution is complex in itself.
“New seismic imaging has given us an unprecedented view of the crater”
It’s also worth noting that when the issue was put to a vote at a 2009 geological debate, those present voted overwhelmingly in favor of a non-celestial origin, leading many to consider the matter settled. Citing scientific data, “New seismic imaging has given us an unprecedented view of the crater,” Nicholson said, adding, “Samples from a local oil well also revealed rare ‘shocked’ quartz and feldspar crystals at the same depth as the crater floor,” as previously explained.
Ultimately, as one of the few underwater craters located to date, this becomes a valuable natural laboratory for studying the consequences of these violent collisions and a reminder of the many secrets still held in the oceans, and even more so in the little-explored areas of planet Earth.
