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Journalism of Courage
UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Each day, we will cover one new subject. Attempt today’s subject quiz on Environment, Geography, Science and Technology to check your progress. Come back tomorrow to solve the Economy Quiz.
With reference to Aurora lights in India, recently seen in news, consider the following statements:
1. Auroras are bright and colourful lights, formed due to an active interaction in Space between charged solar winds and the Earth’s magnetosphere.
2. The magnetosphere is the region surrounding the Earth where the dominant magnetic field is the Earth’s, rather than the magnetic field of interplanetary Space.
3. Sometimes solar wind particles flow down the Earth’s magnetic field and Auroras are produced when these particles collide with atoms and molecules in the Earth’s lower atmosphere.
How many of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) All three
(d) None
With reference to Sun consider the following statements:
1. Sunspots host the strongest magnetic fields on the Sun’s surface and the strength of the magnetic field remain uniform through out the region.
2. Similar to the green and mushy algal moss seen growing on a wet rock structure near water bodies, Sun, too, has similar moss-like patchy structures made of plasma in the solar atmosphere.
3. The moss region is connected to the Sun’s lower atmosphere and the temperatures here can go over a 100 times hotter than the immediate layer below.
How many of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) All three
(d) None
With reference to ice albedo feedback, consider the following statements:
1. It means a higher absorption of the solar radiation with the melting ice exposing a greater land surface.
2. Generally, temperature changes are most pronounced in the polar regions and ice albedo could be a possible reason.
Which of the above statement/s is/are not correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Consider the following statements, with reference to sea level rise:
1. The amount of sea level rise due to thermal expansion between 2005 and 2012 nearly doubled in comparison to the amount of sea level rise due to melting of ice.
2. With sea level rise, saltwater contaminates freshwater aquifers.
3. In 2019, Indonesia announced that the country’s capital would be relocated from Jakarta, which is prone to flooding due to sea level rise.
Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
With reference to 3D printing consider the following statements:
1. It is an additive process, in which layers of a material like plastic, composites or bio-materials are built up to construct objects that range in shape, size, rigidity, and colour.
2. Its application is found in ordinary and complex objects but scientists are yet to find its application in advance sectors like space and health.
Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
FYI:
Auroras are bright and colourful lights, formed due to an active interaction in Space between charged solar winds and the Earth’s magnetosphere. Solar winds are ejections of charged particles from the Sun’s atmosphere, mostly composed of protons and electrons. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
The magnetosphere is the region surrounding the Earth where the dominant magnetic field is the Earth’s, rather than the magnetic field of interplanetary Space, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It protects the Earth against solar winds and is strongest at the poles. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
However, sometimes solar wind particles flow down the Earth’s magnetic field. Auroras are produced when these particles collide with atoms and molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The collisions produce light, “much like how electrons flowing through gas in a neon light collide with neon and other gasses to produce different colored light bulbs,” the NOAA website says. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
Therefore, (b) is the correct answer.
FYI:
NASA in its latest study led by an Indian astronomer has claimed to have identified what makes the solar corona, the outermost peripheral part of the Sun’s atmosphere, extremely hot.
Any variations in the solar corona can affect the space weather and subsequently, the activities on Earth. Hence solar physicists have been engaged in deciphering the composition and behaviours of corona for many decades now. Among the commonest features displayed by the solar corona are loops, streams, plumes and ejections.
Similar to the green and mushy algal moss seen growing on a wet rock structure near water bodies, Sun, too, has similar moss-like patchy structures made of plasma in the solar atmosphere. Under strong magnetic conditions, this moss grows and blossoms around the centre of a sunspot group. The moss-like structure is mainly due to chromospheric jets or ‘spicules’ interspersed with extreme ultraviolet emission elements. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
The moss region is connected to the Sun’s lower atmosphere and the temperatures here can go as high as 5.5 lakh degree Celsius, which is over a 100 times hotter than the immediate layer below. This long-standing mystery of over 25 years has been partly addressed in the latest NASA study. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
NASA scientists used solar observations obtained from two of its missions — the High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) sounding rocket and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) in order to decode the superheating mechanism.
Launched in 2013, IRIS is a small satellite-based explorer mission which has routinely captured high resolution images and spectra of the solar chromosphere and the transition region. Being a sounding rocket, Hi-C is an imager designed to perform short observations of the lower coronal of the Sun in the Extreme Ultraviolet wavelength.
Magnetic field is present everywhere on the Sun. It is this magnetic field which primarily controls the dynamics of the solar atmosphere, the recent paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy said.
The Hi-C and IRIS observations were combined with complex 3D simulations and revealed that electrical currents may be contributing to heating the moss. The moss region is dominated by a mess of intertwined magnetic field lines, and their interactions were creating electrical currents, which, in turn, was healing heat the material upto 1 million degrees Fahrenheit.
Souvik Bose, research scientist at Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Lab and NASA Ames Research Centre, told The Indian Express, “The superheating of the moss region was caused by the interactions between strong magnetic fields generating electric currents.The electrical currents are certainly dependent (that is, proportional) on the magnetic field strength.”
Sunspots host the strongest magnetic fields on the Sun’s surface and the strength of the magnetic field can differ from region to region. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
Therefore, (b) is the correct answer.
FYI:
Generally, temperature changes are most pronounced in the polar regions. One possible reason could be the Ice-Albedo feedback, which basically means a higher absorption of the solar radiation with the melting ice exposing a greater land surface. This leads to amplified warming in the high-latitude region. Hence, both 1 and 2 are correct.
Therefore, (c) is the correct answer.
4. (c)
FYI:
The key driver behind rising sea levels is global warming. As temperatures across the world continue to soar, more and more glaciers and ice sheets are melting and adding water to the ocean. Global warming is also making the ocean warmer, which is leading to something called thermal expansion — when water becomes warmer, it expands in volume. This is contributing to sea level rise as well.
The NOAA report said from the 1970s till the last decade or so, melting and heat expansion were contributing roughly equally to observed sea level rise. The melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets, however, has accelerated. For instance, a 2023 study found that glaciers in Greenland were melting five times faster than in 20 years.
Therefore, the amount of sea level rise due to melting between 2005 and 2012 nearly doubled in comparison to the amount of sea level rise due to thermal expansion, according to the NOAA report. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
The most visible consequence of sea level rise will be the flooding of coastal areas. Take the example of coastal cities in India. A 2022 analysis by RMSI, a global risk management firm, found that some critical properties and road networks in Mumbai, Kochi, Mangalore, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram will be submerged by 2050. The sea level along the Indian is rising at an average rate of about 1.7 mm per year with 3.3 mm per year in the recent decades (1993-2015), according to a response by the Ministry of earth sciences in Lok Sabha in 2021.
Things are worse for island countries like Indonesia. In 2019, Indonesia announced that the country’s capital would be relocated from Jakarta, which is prone to flooding, to the province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
The rise of sea level also leads to more intense storm surges — the rise in seawater level caused solely by a storm — flooding, and damage to coastal areas. That’s because higher sea level can allow more water inland during hurricane-related storm surges.
With sea level rise, saltwater contaminates freshwater aquifers, many of which are used by communities for agricultural and drinking purposes. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Therefore, (c) is the correct answer.
FYI:
What is 3D printing?
3D printing is a process that uses computer-created design to make three-dimensional objects layer by layer. It is an additive process, in which layers of a material like plastic, composites or bio-materials are built up to construct objects that range in shape, size, rigidity, and colour. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested a liquid rocket engine made with the help of additive manufacturing technology — commonly known as 3D printing. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
Therefore, (a) is the correct answer.
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