Researchers from the universities of Oxford and Aberdeen have asked for a complete geophysical survey of The Minch strait in northwest Scotland, where they believe there is a secret ancient meteorite crater lying beneath.

Geologists suggest that a meteor impact occurred 1.2 billion years ago, creating peculiar rocky debris in the Scottish Highlands, with sandstone rocks serving as a proof on the eastern side of the strait known as the Stac Fada Member.

The Stac Fada Member is formed of rare thick rock formations of 15m; they contain shocked quartz and accretionary lapilli and are believed to have been ejected from the ground when the meteor hit the location.

"If you imagine debris flowing out in a big cloud across the landscape, hugging the ground, eventually that material slows down and comes to rest. But it's the stuff out in front that stops first while the stuff behind is still pushing forward and it overlaps what's in front," Dr Ken Amor, of the University of Oxford, told BBC.

"That's what we see and it gives us a strong directional indicator that we can trace backwards. Also, we've examined the orientation of magnetic particles within the fabric of the rock at several locations, and this too allows us to triangulate back to an origin," the scientist added.