Class Notes 4 You

Ocean Streams are water currents flowing linearly along a fixed path. E.g.: Canary, Kurosiwo, North Atlantic Drift etc. Water Masses, on the other hand, are large volumes of water comparable to seas or oceans characterised by a gradual change in temperature and salinity.  Impacts of ocean Currents on marine life and Coastal Environment: 1. Distribution of nutrients, oxygen and plankton. 2. Aquatic animals often follow ocean currents in their migratory cycle. 3. Mixing of cold and warm currents lead to nutrient rich waters, thus provisioning fish rich water regions. 4. Maintain heat balance by transporting heat away from lower latitudes to higher ones. 5. Produce an oceanic effect on coastal areas preventing extreme temperatures. E.g.: land and sea breeze. 6. Ocean Currents control moisture distribution and precipitation. E.g.: Cold canary current has contributed to the dry Sahara Desert in Africa.  Impacts of water masses on marine life and Coastal Environment: 1. It is a zone...

Interlinking of river projects as under National River Linking project aspires to transfer water from water surplus regions to water deficient regions by linking rivers through a network of canals, barrages and reservoirs. First proposed in 1980, it is touted as a solution to problems of floods, droughts and internal navigation. Benefits of river interlinking: 1. Power generation: Total 34 GW, will reduce dependence on coal. 2. Seamless network of internal navigation connecting the hinterlands to mainland. 3. Flood and drought Control via basin transfer of water from surplus to deficient regions. 4. Solution to water crisis- a problem plaguing over 58% of India 5. Irrigation benefits: to 35 million hectares of water deficit peninsular and western regions. 6. Diversify income via fisheries. 7. Ecological benefits like groundwater recharge, filtration. Concerns associated with the project: 1. Very high project costs: approximately 5 lakh crores. 2. Social impact: displacement of people, ...

The circum-pacific zone, also known as the pacific ring of fire, is a horseshoe shaped region surrounding the Pacific Ocean. It includes the western coast of the Americas, off coast of east Asia and Pacific Ocean islands including Australia. Geophysical Characteristics of circum-pacific zone: 1. The region is tectonically active and has interfaces of many major and minor plates like Eurasian, North-American, Cocos, Philippines, Nazca etc. 2. About 3/5th of global volcanic activity lies in the belt. Mt Krakatoa, Mt. Mauna Kea etc. 3. Coastal as well as deep sea earthquakes are very common here. 4. Presence of volcanic islands. E.g.: Hawaii 5. The region is highly disaster prone due to volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. 6. Deep ocean features like trenches, sea mounts etc are also prominent. 7. Climate change has led to creation of hypoxic zones in the region. Circum-Pacific zone presents diverse challenges in disaster management given the high-risk zone as well as high population dens...

Landslide is a rapid movement of rock, soil, and vegetation down the slope under the influence of gravity. Though it is a common feature of both the Himalayan region and the Western Ghats, they differ in the following ways.  Causes--> Himalayan Region--> Western Ghats 1. INCIDENCES OF LANDSLIDES --> High to very high --> Modern to high 2. GEOMORPHIC FORMATION --> The Himalayan region is composed of sedimentary rocks which are more prone to denudation and erosion. --> The major part of Western Ghats is composed of  basalt rocks which shows great resistance to erosion and denudation. 3. EXOGENETIC FORCES --> Ganges, Indus, and Brahmaputra cause a large-scale erosion of the mountainous region which is also a cause of landslides. --> In the Western Ghats, perennial rivers are rare. 4. PLATE TECTONICS --> Himalayan region is tectonically active as the Indian Plate is moving towards the north. --> The Western Ghats are tectonically more stable as compar...

A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arisen from the same cause, usually an orogeny. These mountain ranges have different alignment which impacts their physical characteristics. Across the globe, these mountain ranges have been broadly classified into 2 alignments.  i). North-South Alignment  Andes, Rockies, Aravalli, Ural, Arkanyoma  ii). East-West Alignment Himalaya, Alps, Zagros, Pyrenees Major mountain ranges of the world and their impact on the local weather: A). North-South Alignment 1. Impact of the Aravalli. • It acts as a barrier for the clouds to shift eastwards to the lower Himalayas. • Protects the plains from the effect of westerly flowing from the Central Asia region. 2. Impact of the Andes. • The northern part of the Andes is typically rainy and warm. • The mountains form a rain cover over the eastern plains of Argentina, which have extremely dry weather. 3. Impact of th...

The second half of the 18th century had witnessed two important events in the form of American revolution (1776-1783) and French Revolution (1789). These two events are believed to have laid the foundation of the modern world due its novel social, political and economic ideas whose relevance is still indispensable. Role of American Revolution in the foundation of modern world:  1. The American revolution led to the first written constitution of the world. This serves as an inspiration for many nations across the world. Example: Indian constitution has adopted ideas like Fundamental rights, separation of power, institution of vice president etc from the American institution. 2. The declaration of independence Proclaimed that All men are equal. This paved the way for the modern- day idea of equality. 3. The American revolution gave birth to novel ideas like Right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness and in the modern world every government seeks to promote these. 4. Republican ...

The First World War was considered by many to be a war to end all wars. Yet the developments during the next twenty years led the world into another war, much larger in scale. This period faced many challenges.  However, the establishment of the democratic regime was the major challenge that arose between the two wars.  The reasons attributed to this sorry state of affairs are: 1. With the victory of the Allies in World War I, the ancient systems of monarchy, aristocracy, and oligarchy ceased to be legitimate. 2. Rise of the Totalitarian regime: Rise of Hitler to power in Germany, militant rise of fascists under  Mussolini in Italy unleashed a reign of terror.  3. Military Fascism in Japan: Japan had been the only country in Asia to escape colonization.  4. Issue of Minority Rights and Ethnic Targets: Poor conceptualization of minority rights facilitated ethnic targeting of Jews and Romans and growth of imperialistic ideas. 5. Rise of ultra - nationalism and con...

The integration of princely states into the Indian Union is still believed to be one of the biggest political and administrative challenges that the country faced and the man behind integration was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel along with V P Menon.  Administrative Issues in the integration of the princely states : 1. The princely states were so many that there was even a disagreement as to their number. Example: One historian puts it at 521, another at 565.  2. Several states in Rajasthan would share the border with Pakistan in favour of joining Pakistan. 3. Ruler of Travancore, Nizam of Hyderabad and Bhopal declared the states an independent one.  4. The Government of India Act 1947 gave the princely states an option to remain independent. This clause caused a lot of uncertainty. 5. Larger native states had their own railways and currencies which made them sceptical to join India but to remain an independent princely state. 6. States like Junagadh which was surrounded by sta...

Current Affairs  Important Newspaper Highlights for UPSC Civil Services Examination.   21 July 2022 The HINDU   🟠 STATES: Supreme Court allows 27% OBC reservation for Maharashtra in polls (Page 4) 🟢 EDITORIAL: Revamp India’s school health services (Page 6) 🟠 EDITORIAL: India Vietnam ties, from strong to stronger (Page 6) 🟢 OPED : The cost of misrepresenting inflation (Page 7) 🟠 TEXT &CONTEXT: The sweltering heat wave across Europe (Page 8) 🟢 NEWS : Cheetahs likely to arrive in Kuno before August 15 (Page 12) 🟠 BUSINESS Centre pares windfall tax on crude, junks petrol export levy (Page 14) 🟢 BUSINESS : RBI to initiate CBDC in wholesale, retail sectors (Page 14)  The Indian EXPRESS  🟠 FRONT PAGE : As global crude prices fall, Govt cuts windfall tax on fuel exports (Page 1) 🟢 IN PARLIAMENT : Opposition, govt trade charges as protests over price rise, GST stall House proceedings(Page 5) 🟠 IN PARLIAMENT : Govt to LS : Maosit violence down 77% since 200...