They carried out simulations of asteroid and comet collisions to establish what kind of impact could have created Pohl and whether it could have caused a mega-tsunami.

A simulation that formed a crater with similar dimensions to Pohl was triggered by a 9km asteroid encountering strong ground resistance, releasing 13 million megatons of TNT energy.

Another 3km asteroid, encountering weak ground resistance, released 0.5 megatons of TNT energy.

One megaton of TNT energy has the equivalent force of one million tons.

The amount of energy released by the most powerful megaton ever tested was approximately 57 megatons of TNT energy.

In both simulations, craters measuring 110km in diameter generated mega-tsunamis reaching as far as 1,500km from the centre of the impact site.

Analysis of the giant wave unleashed by the 3km asteroid impact suggested the tsunami could have measured 250 metres on land.

The impact of Pohl has been likened to that of the Chicuxlub crater buried under the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, after which the dinosaurs became extinct.

Writing in the Scientific Reports journal, the researchers said of their breakthrough: "The site's location along a highland-facing lobe aligned to erosional grooves supports a mega-tsunami origin."

They added: "Our findings allow that rocks and soil salts at the landing site are of marine origin, inviting the scientific reconsideration of information gathered from the first in-situ measurements on Mars."