IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

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Amazon rainforest drying out due to human activity, shows NASA study

News:

The Amazon rainforest is drying out due to rising human activity, leaving the already endangered ecosystem more vulnerable to fires and drought. This was revealed by a NASA study based on data collected over 20 years.

Beyond News:

•  They observed that in the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in dryness in the atmosphere as well as in the atmospheric demand for water above the rainforest.
• In comparing this trend to data from models that estimate climate variability over thousands of years, we determined that the change in atmospheric aridity is well beyond what would be expected from natural climate variability.
• Increasing human activity in Amazon, mainly burning of the forests is causing the climate to get warmer. The study showed that the burning of forests results in the release of particles called aerosols into the atmosphere, which includes black carbon or soot and these interfere with rain patterns.
• The reason is that these dark aerosols absorb radiation and heat from the sun causing the atmosphere to get warmer, which impacts cloud formation and, consequently, rainfall. The reason that this is worrying is because the Amazon is the largest rainforest on Earth and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to help keep temperatures down and regulate climate.
• NASA’s study warns that if this trend continues, many of the trees and the species that live within the rainforest ecosystem will die out. When trees dies, they will release carbon dioxide in the air, and the fewer trees, the less carbon dioxide that the Amazon will absorb, which will spell further disaster for climate regulation on Earth as a whole.

Antarctica may drive rapid sea-level rise under climate change

News:

Ice melt from Antarctica is likely to drive rapid and high sea-level rise due to global warming, according to a study that offers a forewarning of what to expect under human-driven climate change.

Beyond News:

• Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) examined historical and new data from the ‘last interglacial’, which took place 125,000 to 118,000 years ago and saw sea levels rose up to 10 metres above current levels.
• The study shows for the first time by how much ice loss in the last interglacial first took place in Antarctica, followed by Greenland. The researchers explained that early Antarctic ice loss was caused by Southern Ocean warming at the onset of the interglacial.
• The meltwater from Antarctica caused changes in global ocean circulation that resulted in northern polar warming and associated Greenland ice loss, they noted. According to co-lead author, Fiona Hibbert, in today’s greenhouse-gas-driven climate change, rapid atmospheric and oceanic warming happens in both polar regions at the same time.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

US announces increase in H-1B application fee by $10

News:

• The United States has announced the increase of H-1B work visa application fee by USD 10 as part of its revised selection process.

Beyond News:

• This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency.
• The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific speciality, or its equivalent.
• Upon implementation of the electronic registration system, petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, will first have to electronically register with the USCIS during a designated registration period, unless the requirement is suspended, the USCIS said.

Tamil to get 9,000 new words

News:

The State government has issued a government order to include 9,000 new Tamil words in the language. 

Beyond News:

Currently, Tamil has over 4.7 lakh unique words.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

• Pakistan targets soldiers with profiles of ‘gurus’

  News:

  The Indian Army has identified over 150 fake profiles on social media being run by Pakistan Intelligence Operatives (PIOs) to trap Indian soldiers for intelligence gathering, sources in the Army said on Thursday.

  Beyond News:

  • “Against the backdrop of virtual honey-trapping cases, the Army issued an advisory in mid-October on the modus operandiof PIOs as part of their attempts to gain intelligence through social media and other means,” an Army source said.
  • Lance Naik Ravi Verma and Sepoy Vichitra Behera were arrested by the Rajasthan police for passing on sensitive information after they were virtually honey-trapped by PIOs on social media. Sources said the investigation revealed that the jawans were in touch with a Facebook ID with the name of ‘Seerat’, posing as a woman.

Dangers of dioxins loom large over Brahmapuram

News:

• The levels of dioxin observed in residual ash samples analysed after the major fire at Brahmapuram on February 23 were in the range observed in various infamous waste dumping sites in Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Netherlands, Greece, and the United States.

Beyond News:

• Dioxins are highly toxic chemical compounds which are harmful to health, and they are known as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
• This was revealed in a study conducted by the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST).
• The report prepared by the environmental technology division of the CSIR-NIIST found that the average dioxin levels observed in ambient air was 10.3 pg TEQ/ m3 at a distance of 50 metres to 100 metres from the fire. The observed levels are 50 and 10 times higher than reference and field blank data.
• The study findings indicate that alarmingly high levels of dioxins are getting emitted from such anthropogenic activities across the country. The possible health consequences of human exposure to these highly toxic POPs are a matter of great concern, researchers said.

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