Scientists confirm asteroid impact in North Sea caused 100-meter tsunami

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have confirmed that the Silverpit Crater in the North Sea was formed 43–46 million years ago by an asteroid about 160 meters wide. The impact threw up a 1.5-kilometer curtain of rock and water and generated a tsunami over 100 meters high.

• The 3-km Silverpit Crater lies 700 meters beneath the North Sea floor
• Shocked quartz and feldspar from an oil well provided decisive evidence
• A roughly 160-meter asteroid struck the seabed at a shallow angle from the west
• The debate over the crater's origin, discovered in 2002, lasted over 20 years