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Nov 10th, 2021 - Daily Quiz
1. Which of the following is/are true about anticyclones?
1) Anticyclones move in the clockwise direction the southern hemisphere.
2) They have a high pressure at the centre.
(a) Only 2
(b) Only 1
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
2. The warming trends in the ocean surface are transferred to the atmosphere above through
(a) Radiation process
(b) Conduction process
(c) Convective processes
(d) Radiation and Conduction Process
3. Reduced land cover
(a) Increases albedo effect of land over ocean
(b) Decreases albedo effect of land over ocean
(c) Has no effect on albedo
(d) Increases albedo effect of land slightly but not more than the ocean
4. Anthropogenic atmospheric aerosols affect the monsoon in which of the following ways?
(a) They reduce incoming solar radiation
(b) They capture solar radiation, heating the atmosphere over land and sea affecting temperature difference needed for monsoon
(c) They absorb water vapour reducing rains
(d) (a), (b), (c)
5. Gayal is the state animal of
1) Arunachal Pradesh
2) Nagaland
3) Assam
4) Tripura
(a) 1, 2
(b) 1, 3, 4
(c) 2, 3, 4
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4
Answers
1.(a)
An anticyclone (that is, opposite to a cyclone) is a weather phenomenon that is a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure.
It moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, anti-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
The strongest anticyclones occur over snow-covered portions of Asia and North America in the winter when clear, dry air masses cool from a loss of infrared radiation, while little sunlight is absorbed to offset that infrared cooling.
2. (c)
The surface warming in the Indian Ocean, especially in the western regions has reached values of up to 1.2 degrees C during the past century, much larger than the warming trends in other tropical oceans. The decrease in the land-sea thermal contrast surface temperature trends (1901-2012) is also visible in the upper atmosphere, as the warming trends in the ocean surface are transferred to the atmosphere above through convective processes.
Convective heat transfer, often referred to simply as convection, is the transfer of heat from one place to another by the movement of fluids. Convection is usually the dominant form of heat transfer (convection) in liquids and gases.
The warm air rises up and its place is taken by the cool air.
3. (d)
An important contributor to monsoon weakening is the albedo effect of deforestation by humans.
Reduced land cover increases the reflectivity (albedo effect) which leads to cooling of land in contrast to the ocean and results in a weakened monsoon circulation.
4. (a)
Anthropogenic atmospheric aerosols, including sulphates, black carbon, nitrates and dust accumulate over the Indo-gangetic plains. These reduce incoming solar radiation over northern India and the northern Indian Ocean and lead to cooling on both land and sea resulting in a lowered thermal contrast.
Hence, monsoon winds and circulation are weakened as both land and sea are cooled. Evaporation is also suppressed. Over South Asia, over 50 per cent of aerosol emissions are caused by biomass and agricultural burning. There is mounting evidence of the emissions from South Asia and China in changing the timing, spatial distribution and strength of the monsoon.
However, negative impacts of these aerosols can be reduced quickly as they have a short lifetime of few weeks compared to GHGs which can stay in the atmosphere for up to 80 years.
5.(a)
Gayal is also known as Mithun.
ICAR-National Research Centre on Mithun (ICAR-NRCM), Jharnapani, Medziphema, Nagaland is the only institute of its kind in the world solely dedicated to the conservation, propagation and development of Mithun.
Gayal is distributed in Northeast India, Bangladesh, northern Burma and in Yunnan, China.
The ICAR-NRCM farm has established modern scientific facilities for the rearing of Mithun under a semi-intensive system that comprises of various farmer-friendly technologies developed by the institute namely feed block, mineral block, area specific mineral mixture and low-cost feed formulation using industrial by-products.