Scientists say the ‘Anthropocene epoch’ began in the 1950s: What it means, significance

• Anthropocene epoch is a proposed epoch that denotes the present geological time interval, in which the Earth’s ecosystem has gone through radical changes due to human impact.
• In a major development that could change the Earth’s official geological timeline, geologists have said sediments at Crawford Lake in Canada’s Ontario have provided evidence of the beginning of the Anthropocene epoch — a proposed geological epoch that began when human activity started to have a significant impact on the Earth.
• The data show a clear shift from the mid-20th century, taking Earth’s system beyond the normal bounds of the Holocene (the epoch that started at the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago)

What is the Anthropocene epoch?

• The Anthropocene epoch as a term was first coined by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen and biology professor Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to denote the present geological time interval, in which the Earth’s ecosystem has gone through radical changes due to human impact, especially since the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
• There are numerous phenomena associated with this epoch, such as global warming, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, mass-scale soil erosion, the advent of deadly heat waves, deterioration of the biosphere and other detrimental changes in the environment.
• “Many of these changes will persist for millennia or longer, and are altering the trajectory of the Earth System, some with permanent effect. They are being reflected in a distinctive body of geological strata now accumulating, with potential to be preserved into the far future,” the AWG’s website said.

How is the Earth’s geological time divided?

• The planet’s geological time scale is divided into five broad categories: eons, epochs, eras, periods, epochs and ages. While eon is the broadest category of geological time, age is the smallest category.
• Each of these categories is further divided into sub-categories. For instance, Earth’s history is characterised by four eons, including Hadeon (oldest), Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic (youngest).
• Most of the boundaries on the geological time scale correspond to the origination or extinction of particular kinds of fossils.”
• This is also related to something called the principle of faunal succession, which states that different kinds of fossils characterise different intervals of time.
• As of now, at least officially, we’re in the Phanerozoic eon, Cenozoic era, Quaternary period, Holocene epoch and the Meghalayan age.

How a tiny fish that fuels an Atlantic ecosystem is at the centre of industry debates

Researchers say that overfishing of the Atlantic menhaden are at the root of the recently reported declining reproductive rates of ospreys.

Researchers hoped to find evidence of a healthy new generation of ospreys when they checked 84 nests of the fish-eating bird in mid-June at Mobjack Bay, an inlet at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay. They found only three young.

They said it represented the latest evidence in a long-term decline in breeding success due to the bay-wide depletion of the bird’s favorite food — Atlantic menhaden.

• The reproductive numbers of the ospreys were found to be the lowest in last 50 years.
• Breeding was declined as the favorite food of this bird, Atlantic menhaden, was depleted.

Osprey

• Normally, Osprey is considered a migratory bird in India.
• However, for reasons still to be known (maybe they have become resident or stayed late or came early) the bird has been sighted at times it is generally not spotted. At the same time no evidence of breeding has also been reported.
• Ospreys migrate to India from Russia to escape the harsh winters.
• Research has shown that Ospreys migrate alone and the offspring faces a great challenge of not only endurance but also navigation.

Migration of Birds

• Migratory birds fly hundreds and thousands of kilometres to find the best ecological conditions and habitats for feeding, breeding and raising their young.

Osprey

• It is also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk — is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range (found across or most of the world in appropriate habitats).
• It is a large raptor species or “Birds of prey”.
• Its IUCN conservation status is “Least Concern”.
• It lives in wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.
• Osprey are mostly found in area with coastal forest nearby (Pulicat lake provides it here in India).

Menhaden Fish

• This tiny silver color fish serves as the primary food source for many birds and big fishes of the ocean.
• There is a distinct black shoulder spot behind the gill opening of this fish.
• They can grow upto 15 inches and may weigh about a pound.
• This species is also known by the scientific name Brevoortia tyrannus and belongs to Clupeidae family.
• Apart from overfishing other cause of decline in their population is predation and diseases.
• They are mainly found in East Atlantic coastal and estuarine waters from Nova Scotia to northern Florida.

Importance of this fish

• In the coastal water ecosystem it plays a crucial role in its sustainability.
• It can feed variety of organisms like –
  • Fish - striped bass and weakfish.
  • Other marine animals - whales and dolphins.
  • Birds - Bald eagles, Great blue herons & brown pelicans.
• These fishes are good source of omega-3 fatty acids and contribute to nutrition security.
• They help in filtration of large quantities of ocean water.
• These fishes can also be used as fertilizers and animal feed.

Threat/Concerns

• Overfishing by commercial fishing industry for their use in Food products like fish oil, fish meal etc. especially around Chesapeake Bay.
• They are also caught for their use as bait for crabs and lobsters.
• Across Atlantic coast, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission allowed 20% more fishing, which is 233,550 metric tons, than in previous years two years.
• It may lead to ecosystem degradation in the associated coastal areas and harm biodiversity for instance –
• It will make survival of Osprey and striped bass hard.
• Many species, who depend on menhaden for their food security, may disappear.
• It may harm the recreational fishing industry of the region for instance Virginia.

Conservation Status

• This species was assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2015.
• This is listed as a Least Concern fish species.

Stunning Webb telescope image shows closest star-forming region

The image shows how the jets of material emanating from young stars affect the surrounding gas and dust while lighting up molecular hydrogen

• NASA released an image obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth, as the U.S. space agency marked one year since it unveiled the telescope''s first scientific results.
• The Rho Ophiuchi image was an example of that, showing a nebula - a humongous cloud of interstellar gas and dust that serves as a nursery for new stars - located in our Milky Way galaxy roughly 390 light years from Earth. (A light year is the distance light travels in a year), 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
• Rho Ophiuchi is only about a million years old, a blink of the eye in cosmic time.

At Peru temple site, archaeologists explore 3,000-year-old ''condor''s passageway''

• The Chavin are well-known for their advanced art, often featuring depictions of birds and felines
• Archaeologists working in Peru have uncovered a 3,000-year-old sealed corridor dubbed "the condor''s passageway" that likely leads to other chambers inside what was once a massive temple complex pertaining to the ancient Chavin culture.
• The Chavin are well-known for their advanced art, often featuring depictions of birds and felines. They date back to the first sedentary farming communities in the northern highlands of the Peruvian Andes, more than 2,000 years before the Inca Empire rose to power.
• The condor, one of the largest birds in the world, was associated with power and prosperity in ancient Andean cultures.
• The United Nations'' educational, scientific and cultural arm UNESCO declared Chavin de Huantar a world heritage site in 1985.

California Condor

• The California condor is one of the world’s largest flying birds with a wingspan of up to 2.7 meters and weighing more than 9 kg
• The California condor is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird.
• It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah
• It is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps,
• The species is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as Critically Endangered
• The condor is a scavenger and eats large amounts of carrion.
• It is one of the world’s longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 60 years.

GST waiver may have limited benefit for patients; MNCs ask govt to extend it to all life-saving drugs sol

National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021

• It aims to lower the high cost of treatment for rare diseases with increased focus on indigenous research.
• It offers financial support for one-time treatment of up to Rs. 20 lakhs, introduces a crowd funding mechanism, creates a registry of rare diseases and provides for early detection.
• The rare diseases have been identified and categorized into 3 groups namely
  • Group 1: Disorders amenable to one-time curative treatment.
  • Group-2: Diseases requiring long term/lifelong treatment having relatively lower cost of treatment and benefit has been documented in literature and annual or more frequent surveillance is required.
  • Group 3: - Diseases for which definitive treatment is available but challenges are to make optimal patient selection for benefit, very high cost and lifelong therapy.
• In order to receive financial assistance for treatment of rare disease, the patient of the nearby area may approach the nearest Centre of Excellence to get him assessed and avail the benefits.
• Eight (08) Centres of Excellence (CoEs) have been identified for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of rare diseases.
• Centres of Excellence: The Centres of Excellence would be provided a one-time grant to a maximum of Rs. 5 crore each for infrastructure development for screening, tests, treatment.

India votes in favour of UNHRC resolution that strongly rejects acts of desecration of Quran

• UN Human Rights Council adopted the draft resolution ‘Countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence’, with 28 members voting in favour, seven abstentions and 12 nations voting against.

United Nations Human Rights Council

• It is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world.
• It was created by the General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by replacing the Commission on Human Rights.
• It has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis.
• The members of the Council serve for a period of three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
• The Council''s Membership is based on equitable geographical distribution.
• Function:
  • It investigates allegations of breaches of human rights in UN member states, and addresses important thematic human rights issues such as freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion, women''s rights, LGBTI rights, and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.

Government Releases Rs 7532 Crore To 22 State Governments For State Disaster Response Funds

State Disaster Response Funds

• It has been constituted in each State under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• The fund is the primary fund available with State Governments for responses to notified disasters.
• Funding Pattern:
  • The Central Government contributes 75% to the SDRF in general States and 90% in North-East and Himalayan States.
  • The annual Central contribution is released in two equal installments as per the recommendation of the Finance Commission.
• As per the guidelines, the funds are released on receipt of Utilisation Certificate of the amount released in the earlier instalment and receipt of a report from the State Government on the activities undertaken from SDRF.
• However, in view of the urgency, these requirements were waived while releasing the funds this time.
• The fund is to be used only for meeting the expenditure for providing immediate relief to the victims of notified calamities like cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloud burst, pest attack and frost & cold wave.
• Allocation of SDRF funds to the States is based on multiple factors like past expenditure, area, population, and disaster risk index.
• These factors reflect States'' institutional capacity, risk exposure, and hazard and vulnerability.

Tropical waters have turned green in colour, courtesy climate change: Study

• The waters in the tropics have turned green and the southern Indian Ocean, in particular, has seen a significant colour change.
• Changes in the ocean colour indicate alterations to the phytoplankton communities - since phytoplankton are essential for most life in the ocean as the base of the marine food web.
• Human eyes are not sensitive enough to differentiate subtle colour changes.
• The oceans appear blue, but the true colour may contain a mix of subtler wavelengths, from blue to green and even red.
• The green hue comes from chlorophyll, a pigment that helps phytoplankton make food.
• A change in colour due to an increase or decline in the population will impact organisms that feed on plankton.
• Though the southern Indian Ocean is seeing a significant change, the waters near India are not following the same trend.

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

• It is a key instrument aboard the Terra(originally known as EOS AM-1) and Aqua (originally known as EOS PM-1) and Aqua (originally known as EOS PM-1) satellites.
• Terra''s orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon.
• Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth''s surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths.
• These data will improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere.
• Significance: It is playing a vital role in the development of validated, global, interactive Earth system models able to predict global change accurately enough to assist policy makers in making sound decisions concerning the protection of our environment.

India Inaugurates ''SAGAR SAMPARK''

• It is an indigenous Differential Global Navigation Satellite System (DGNSS).
• The Differential Global Navigation Satellite System is a terrestrial based enhancement system which corrects the errors and inaccuracies in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) allowing for more accurate positioning information.
• It is now able to transmit corrections of GPS and GLONASS.
• Significance
  • Sagar Sampark at six locations will assist the Director General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) to provide radio aids to ships for marine navigation.
  • The system will provide accurate information to the ships for safe navigation and will reduce the risk of collisions, groundings, and accidents in the port and harbour areas.
  • This will lead to the safe and efficient movement of vessels.
  • It will significantly improve the accuracy of GPS positioning and reduces errors caused by atmospheric inferences, satellite clock drift, and other factors.
  • The error correction accuracy has been improved from 5 to 10 meters to less than 5 meters for 100 Nautical Miles (NM) from Indian coastlines.

Army officers say Army faces challenges in Manipur without AFSPA

Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA):

• It is a law enacted by the Parliament in 1958 which gives armed forces (Army, the Air Force and Central paramilitary forces) the special powers and immunity to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”.
• When is it applied? It can be applied only after an area has been declared “disturbed” under section 2 of the act.
• What is a Disturbed area? An area can be considered to be disturbed due to differences or disputes among different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.
• Who declares an area as disturbed? Section (3) of AFSPA empowers the governor of the state/Union territory to issue an official notification declaring the state or a region within as a “disturbed area”, after which the centre can decide whether to send in armed forces.
• The ‘special powers’ of armed forces under Section 4 are:
  • Power to use force even to the extent of causing death, destroy arms / ammunition dumps, fortifications/ shelters / hideouts.
  • Power to arrest without a warrant.
  • Power to seize and search’ without any warrant any premise.
  • It stipulates that arrested persons and seized property is to be handed over to the nearest Police Station with least possible delay.
  • These armed forces are immune from prosecution unless the Union Government provides sanction to the prosecuting agencies.

SC concerned over lakhs of devotees visiting temple in Sariska Tiger Reserve, sets up panel to find solution

• Location: It is located in the Aravalli hills in the Alwar district of Rajasthan.
• This area was a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state.
• It was declared as a wildlife reserve in 1955 and then a Tiger Reserve in 1978 under Project Tiger.
• It is the first reserve in the world which successfully relocated tigers.
• Sariska is also famous for old temples, palaces and lakes such as Pandu Pol, Bhangarh Fort, Ajabgarh, Pratapgarh, Siliserh Lake and Jai-Samand Lake.
• Topography: Grasslands, dry deciduous forests, cliffs, and rocky landscapes.
• Flora:
  • Nearly 90% of the area in the sanctuary is covered with dhok trees.
  • Other species found include salar, kadaya, gol, ber, Banyan, gugal, bamboo, kair, adusta etc
• Fauna: A variety of other wild animals like the leopard, sambhar, chital, nilgai, four-horned antelope, wild boar, rhesus macaque, langur, hyena and jungle cats are found in the Sariska Tiger Reserve apart from the tiger.

Sun to reach Solar Maximum by 2025, likely to cause complete global internet outage

Solar Maximum:

• The sun goes through a natural solar cycle approximately every 11 years. The cycle is marked by the increase and decrease of sunspots - visible as dark blemishes on the sun''s surface, or photosphere.
• The greatest number of sunspots in any given solar cycle is designated as "solar maximum." The lowest number is "solar minimum."
• Impacts:
  • This increased solar activity can cause extreme space weather events, including solar flares and eruptions.
  • It can also disrupt radio communications and the power grid and have serious health consequences for astronauts.

Solar Cycle

• The Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas. This charged gas moves, generating a powerful magnetic field.
• Every 11 years or so, the Sun''s magnetic field completely flips. This means that the Sun''s north and south poles switch places.
• Then it takes about another 11 years for the Sun’s north and south poles to flip back again.
• Thus, the solar cycle is the cycle that the Sun’s magnetic field goes through approximately every 11 years.
• The solar cycle affects activity on the surface of the Sun, such as sunspots which are caused by the Sun''s magnetic fields.
• As the magnetic fields change, so does the amount of activity on the Sun''s surface.
• The beginning of a solar cycle is a solar minimum, or when the Sun has the least sunspots. Over time, solar activity—and the number of sunspots—increases.
• The middle of the solar cycle is the solar maximum, or when the Sun has the most sunspots.
• As the cycle ends, it fades back to the solar minimum and then a new cycle begins.