Category Social Sciences

IN WHICH DESERT WERE DINOSAUR EGGS DISCOVERED?

The Gobi Desert straddles Mongolia’s southern border with China’s autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. It is a cold desert formed in the rain shadow of the Himalayas. The world’s highest mountain chain blocks clouds from the Indian Ocean from making it over the Tibetan Plateau and into the Gobi area.

During the late Cretaceous, some 70-80 million years ago, the Gobi region was a lot different. Parts of it were covered by dense conifer forests, criss-crossed by streams and dotted with lakes. Today, though, thanks to the desert’s barren, rock-strewn landscapes, paleontologists have found so many incredible fossils. The rocks from the lush dinosaur age are already exposed at the surface and ready to be explored.

The first-ever positively identified dinosaur eggs became one of the first sensational finds from a rocky outcrop called the Flaming Cliffs. Andrews thought the eggs belonged to a dinosaur called Protoceratops, a small hornless relative of Triceratops. Intriguingly, in other finds, a feathered carnivorous dinosaur called Oviraptor had also been found fossilized on top of Protoceratops eggs. In the 1990s scientists discovered that the eggs actually belonged to Oviraptor and these fossils were the first known evidence of dinosaur brooding behavior, a further evolutionary link with birds. Sadly, because of scientific naming rules, Oviraptor will always bear the Latin name “egg plunderer”.

Credit: EARTH ARCHIVES

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HAVE THERE BEEN MANY ICE AGES?

There have been at least five major ice ages in Earth’s history: the Huronian,  Cryogenian, Andean-Saharan, late Palaeozoic and Quaternary. The study of rocks dates the Huronian around 2.1 billion years ago. The Cryogenic, around 700 million   years ago may have seen Earth almost totally frozen, like a snowball. The Andean-Saharan Ice Age happened around 400 million years ago. The late Palaeozoic, around 360 million years ago, had extensive polar ice caps. The Quaternary Age began around

2.5 million years ago. At present, Earth is in an interglacial period it is between ice ages.

There have been five or six major ice ages in the history of Earth over the past 3 billion years. The Late Cenozoic Ice Age began 34 million years ago, its latest phase being the Quaternary glaciation, in progress since 2.58 million years ago.

Within ice ages, there exist periods of more severe glacial conditions and more temperate conditions, referred to as glacial periods and interglacial periods, respectively. The Earth is currently in such an interglacial period of the Quaternary glaciation, with the last glacial period of the Quaternary having ended approximately 11,700 years ago. The current interglacial is known as the Holocene epoch. Based on climate proxies, paleoclimatologists study the different climate states originating from glaciation.       

Credit: Wikipedia

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What is the matter of boosting birth rate?

At a time when our planet is bursting at the seams with population explosion, there are countries which are trying to boost their birth rate. For instance, China recently announced a slew of measures aimed at encouraging families to have more babies. Why? Come, let’s find out.

China, the country with the population in the world, has been faced with a demographic (relating to the structure of a population comprising different age groups) crisis. Chinese officials have warned that the size of the population will begin to shrink by the year 2025. But what are the factors responsible for this? Low birth rates, higher cost of living, people’s preference for smaller families, a rapidly ageing workforce, and slowing economy have been cited as the reasons.

When birth rates fall, it will lead to demographic imbalance, rise in older population, reduction of population size, and labour shortage in the the long term, affecting a country’s growth and economy.

Faced with falling birth rates over the past few years, China has announced several perks to boost its birth rate. Can you believe the country had a strict “one-child rule” till a few years ago? The policy guidelines issued by China’s National Health Commission urge the central and local governments to enhance spending on reproductive health, and improve childcare services across the country. The measures to boost birth rate include offering subsidies, tax rebates, better health insurance, education, housing and employment support for young families, and family-friendly workplaces. Did you know some Chinese cities have been offering cash incentives to encourage women to have more children? Now all provinces are required to ensure enough nurseries for children aged two to three by the end of the year to address shortage of childcare services.

According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics data, the country’s birth rate slipped to 7.52 births per 1,000 people in 2021, which is the lowest since records began to be kept in 1949.

What is the shortest day ever recorded?

A day has 24 hours, right? That’s 1,440 minutes. Or 86,400 seconds. That’s to say, a day is 8,64,00,000 milliseconds. Only that, at that scale, hardly any of our days hits exactly that number. As the Earth’s rotation speeds up or slows down, fractions of a millisecond are often added or subtracted, making our days a teensy bit longer or shorter on record.

June 29, 2022

On June 29, 2022, we had the shortest day ever recorded since scientists started measuring the length of each day with the precision of atomic clocks in the 1960s. June 29, 2022 was 1.59 milliseconds shorter than 24 hours.

In December 2020, the website Time and Date reported that that year alone had experienced the 28 shortest days since records were maintained. This included July 19, 2020, which was previously the shortest day on record at 1.47 milliseconds under 24 hours.

Speeding up or slowing down the rotation of any object comes down to its angular momentum, which has three components: mass of the rotating object, speed at which it moves, and the distance from the point it is rotating about. To help your understanding, imagine swivelling around in a chair. While your rotation will slow when you have your arms outstretched, you will spin faster when you pull your arms back in.

Remains a challenge

As Earth constantly redistributes its mass and angular momentum, its rotation rate and the length of the day keep changing. Scientists have a number of ideas as to why the Earth speeds up and slows down, but predicting the length of a day remains a challenge, even in the future.

This is because a number of factors are involved and there could even be a mix of several factors acting together. These include the wind, the gradual movements of mass within the Earth, the interactions where the Earth’s core meets its mantle, and the fact that the Earth isn’t exactly spherical, to name a few.

While understanding the planet’s long-term changes that influence its rotation might put us on the path towards predicting the next shortest day, scientists believe that the most recent one could likely be the result of a brief climate phenomenon such as wind speed change high in the atmosphere. As for the next shortest day, we will just have to wait and see for the moment.

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What are some ways a citizen can participate in the political process?

Children demonstrate an interest, but stay away from engaging in socio-political affairs. Here’s how they can address the gaps, become active citizens and prepare to participate in future democratic processes…

Knowledge of politics

Education is the building block of a progressive society. Besides shaping your personality, it helps you bring about change in society. Wondering how? If you become aware of your rights and responsibilities, you will be better equipped to face society and take an active part in shaping it. Continue to follow politics in your state and country from a young age. An early awareness of politics is essential to awaken your sense of social responsibility in a democracy. To start with, familiarise yourself with local governance and democratic values. Get to know about political developments, leaders and their accomplishments. Are they good at their work? Are the policies framed by them effective? Find out from the newspapers and other media. Discuss themes ranging from fundamental rights to voting and elections. This will help you make informed choices when you turn 18, the age to exercise your right to franchise. What’s more, if you are cut out for politics, you too can enter the field at the right time and make a difference.

Start small

Are you indifferent towards the pot holed road in your locality? Or uncleared dustbins in the neighbourhood? Have you ignored the govemment’s call to end the use of certain plastic items? Well, if your answer is ‘Yes’, it’s time to act. Change starts with you! You can be the change you would like to see in society. Find out how you can contribute to change in your community. You can start by volunteering with organisations working for civic issues during the weekends. As you commit yourself to such work, you will inspire others too to follow suit. Start small, start local, and then expand your areas of work.

Read autobiographies and biographies of leaders

Every leader had to overcome great obstacles during their lifetime. Today we may not even have an idea of the struggles they had to undergo to attain freedom for our country. Read up on the history of India and world, the wars, the biographies of great leaders and the works written by them. You will get to know about their qualities, what made them stand out, their credibility, statesmanship and their effective policies towards disadvantages sections of society. You will also learn about the futility of war. Books serve as great teachers and reading biographies will shape you into a better leader.

 

Care for the environment

With a warming world staring us in the face, what can we do to minimise its impact on us and the future generations? Remember the 3Rs – Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. Conserve energy by unplugging appliances when not in use. Conserve water by fixing the leaky taps in the kitchen and around your house. Plant saplings, and remember to water them regularly. They will surely provide the much-needed green cover in a few years’ time. Cycle or walk to places in the vicinity instead of taking out your fuel-guzzling two-wheelers to buy things needed for home or to visit friends. In this way, you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thereby cut your carbon footprint. Instead of going on accumulating new things, try recycling what you already have and reuse. Cardboards can be converted into penholders and made attractive with a coat of vibrant paint, CD discs can be converted into adornments, and doormats can be fashioned out of old clothes. The options are many, if you only put your heart to it.

Be a responsible citizen

Do not wait for something big to happen. Start where you are with whatever you have, said People’s President A.PJ. Abdul Kalam. He believed in the power of the young minds to bring about change. Youngsters are a dynamic force. These days they are often exposed to issues such as economic inequities, religious discrimination and environmental challenges. If young people aged below 20, who constitute over 40% of the country’s population, develop skills such as empathy, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving, it will not only enable them to take responsibility for their actions but also help build a better future along with others.

Develop a mindset that will push you to question what is undesirable around you and resolve the problems efficiently and amicably. By being a responsible citizen, you can play an active part in society, be the changemaker and also inspire others to bring about change in various walks of life.

Think positive

A positive perception towards politics is essential as today’s children are going to be tomorrow’s leaders and policy makers. Many youngsters tend to get cynical about politics when they come across or read about corrupt leaders and those with criminal antecedents. But instead of losing heart, they can try to set good examples. Knowledge of and early exposure to politics lead to increased interest in politics. Try to participate in democratic processes such as elections in schools and colleges. This will eventually help evolve an avid interest in the country’s electoral process, governance, development, etc. Gaining knowledge about economy, healthcare, social justice and the Constitution is essential. When you are well informed about the situations prevalent in the country and other countries, you will be able to bring about systemic change that will benefit society.

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WHAT IS A GLACIAL ERRATIC?

A rock resting on rocks from which it differs drastically is a glacial erratic. It would have been transported to a location many kilometres away from its place of origin by glacial erosion. An erratic can vary in size from a small rock to a very big boulder. Studying such rocks helps scientists define the path of glacial movement.

A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word errare (to wander), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres. Erratics can range in size from pebbles to large boulders such as Big Rock (16,500 tonnes or 18,200 short tons) in Alberta.

Geologists identify erratics by studying the rocks surrounding the position of the erratic and the composition of the erratic itself. Erratics are significant because:

  • They can be transported by glaciers, and they are thereby one of a series of indicators which mark the path of prehistoric glacier movement. Their lithographic origin can be traced to the parent bedrock, allowing for confirmation of the ice flow route.
  • They can be transported by ice rafting. This allows quantification of the extent of glacial flooding resulting from ice dam failure which release the waters stored in proglacial lakes such as Lake Missoula. Erratics released by ice-rafts that were stranded and subsequently melted, dropping their load, allow characterization of the high-water marks for transient floods in areas like temporary Lake Lewis.
  • Erratics dropped by icebergs melting in the ocean can be used to track Antarctic and Arctic-region glacial movements for periods prior to record retention. Also known as dropstones, these can be correlated with ocean temperatures and levels to better understand and calibrate models of the global climate.

Credit: Wikipedia

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