Silverpit or Silverpit crater is an underwater geological formation in the North Sea off the coast of Great Britain . A crater-like form named after Silverpit, a neighboring valley of the ocean floor known to generations of fishermen, was discovered during a routine analysis of seismic data collected during gas searches in the southern sedimentary basin of the North Sea. Its origin from a meteorite impact was first proposed and widely publicized in 2002. If true, then Silverpit will be the first impact crater discovered in or near the United Kingdom. According to estimates, its age is from 45 to 74 million years ( late Cretaceous or Eocene ) [1] .
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| English Silverpit crater | |
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However, such an interpretation is controversial, and other authors dispute the meteorite origin of the crater. Alternative origins were also proposed, and in one of them this formation was created by the destruction of the rocks, supported by the mobility of the salts.
Notes
- β Stewart, SA; Allen, PJ 3D seismic reflection mapping of the Silverpit multi-ringed crater, North Sea // English / Russian Geological Society of America Bulletin : journal. - 2005. - Vol. 117 , no. 3 . - P. 354-368 . - DOI : 10.1130 / B25591.1 . - . Archived December 9, 2011.
Links
- North Sea crater shows its scars ( BBC News , March 18, 2005)
- UK's first impact crater discovered
- National Geographic news (link not available) . Archived March 11, 2005.
- David Darling's space encyclopedia
- The geological society of london
- Further information from the Geological Society of London (Unavailable link) . Archived October 31, 2004.