Current government policy states it is not possible to prevent all areas from erosion, but "action is being taken to manage the risks and reduce its impact".

BBC: Norfolk

The weather impact was exacerbated by decades of extensive farming without crop rotation, cover crops and other techniques to prevent wind erosion.

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"Impact craters like this give us clues into how the Earth's crust is recycled and the speed of erosion, and may be implicated in episodes of widespread extinction of animals in the geological past, " Pratt said.

MSN: Massive meteorite crater found in Canadian Arctic