Subject/Topic Wise Current Affairs for UPSC Exam | Physical Geography

Southern Annular Mode (SAM)

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has discovered that the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) plays a pivotal role in shaping the sea conditions across the Indian Ocean. SAM – It refers to the north-south movement of Southern Westerly Winds over timescales of 10s to 100s of years. They blow almost continuously in the mid- to high-latitudes of the southern hemisphere and so called as Antarctic oscillations. It is usually defined as the difference in the zonal mean sea level pressure at 40°S (mid-latitudes) and 65°S (Antarctica). Importance – It shapes the wave patterns over extended time frames and a climate driver by influencing…

23 November, 2023 Oceanography

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Ocean Currents and Global Warming

Ocean Currents and Global Warming A recent study claims that the Galápagos Islands have been protected from global warming by cold ocean currents. Key Study Findings Combating Global Warming: The islands are shielded from the warming Pacific Ocean by a chilly, eastward equatorial ocean current, which has been strengthening for decades. Since the early 1990s, the temperature of the water off the west coast of the Galápagos Islands has decreased by 0.5 degrees Celsius. The chilly ocean current and global warming are at odds with one another. The ocean current is currently under control because the weather is getting colder…

14 October, 2022 Oceanography

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Melting of Arctic Ice & Ocean acidification

Melting of Arctic Ice & Ocean acidification The western Arctic Ocean's altering chemistry has just been brought to light by a research team. Information about the study Research findings: Three to four times quicker than other ocean waters, the acidity levels in Arctic seas are rising, according to the study. Seawater typically has a pH of 8.1, making it alkaline. The team also discovered a significant link between the rate of ocean acidification and the accelerated rate of glacier melting. Reasons: Scientists Cite sea-ice melt as the principal factor responsible for this abrupt pH drop since it affects surface water…

01 October, 2022 Oceanography

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Slowing Currents in the Gulf Stream

Slowing Currents in the Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and stretches to the tip of Florida. It then follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean as the North Atlantic Current. The Gulf Stream system conveys warm surface water from the equator to the north and the deeper cold, low-salinity water down south. It works like a giant conveyor belt. A recent study has revealed the slowing of the Gulf Stream system. Increased rainfall and melting of the Greenland Ice sheet may…

08 March, 2021 Oceanography

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Sea Level Rise and Its impact

Sea Level Rise and Its Impact GS-PAPER-1 Geography: Oceanography (PT-MAINS) Image Source - Recently, a study in the journal Scientific reports made predictions that a large population and assets will be globally affected as a consequence of Sea Level Rise (SLR). SLR is a consequence of climate change, which is predicted to increase coastal flooding by 2100. The global population potentially exposed to episodic coastal flooding will increase from 128-171 million to 176-287 million by 2100. 0.5-0.7% of the world’s land area is at risk of episodic coastal flooding by 2100, impacting 2.5-4.1% of the population. The value of global assets exposed to coastal flooding is projected to be between 6,000-$9,000…

04 August, 2020 Oceanography

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Sea Level Rise: Its impact

Sea Level Rise: Its Impact GS-PAPER-1 Geography: Oceanography (PT-MAINS) Recently, a study in journal Scientific reports made predictions that a large population and assets will be globally affected as a consequence of Sea Level Rise (SLR). SLR is a consequence of climate change, which is predicted to increase coastal flooding by 2100. The global population potentially exposed to episodic coastal flooding will increase from 128-171 million to 176-287 million by 2100. 0.5-0.7% of the world’s land area is at a risk of episodic coastal flooding by 2100, impacting 2.5-4.1% of the population. The value of global assets exposed to coastal flooding is projected to be between 6,000-$9,000 billion USD, or 12-20%…

04 August, 2020 Oceanography

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Indian Ocean Dipole- New phenomenon to emerge

Indian Ocean Dipole- New phenomenon to emerge When the Indian Ocean’s ancient climate patterns return About 19,000-21,000 years ago, ice sheets covered North America and Eurasia, and sea levels were much lower, with Adam’s Bridge exposed so that the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka were contiguous. This period, the peak of ice age conditions, is called the Last Glacial Maximum. Researchers analysed simulations of this past climate and predicted that the ongoing climate change could reawaken an ancient climate pattern of the Indian Ocean. Similarity with the El Nino They find that this could be similar to the El Niño phenomenon of the…

28 June, 2020 Oceanography

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Deep Ocean Mission

Deep Ocean Mission The government of India is all set to launch the ‘Deep Ocean Mission by January 2018 and it will improve India’s position in the ocean research field. Achievements in the field of ocean research: The program on Poly metallic nodules was initiated at CSIR-NIO with the collection of the first nodule sample from the Arabian Sea on board the first Research Vessel Gaveshani on 26 January 1981. India was the first country in the world to have been given the Pioneer Area for exploration of deep-sea minerals viz. Polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin in 1987. Based on the…

11 May, 2020 Oceanography