General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

Mar 10, 2021

Earth's Hidden Layers

Scientists have detected the signs of a hidden structure inside the core of Planet Earth. This sign has the potential to change the long-standing narrative of what lies at the centre of Earth. This layer is being termed as the 'fifth layer'.
As per the long-standing narrative, there exists four layers namely; crust, mantle, outer core and inner core. The scientists have also spotted reportedly some changes in the structure of iron within the inner core. These changes suggest that a new 'boundary line' is stretching for about 650 kilometres from the centre of the Earth.
Researchers are getting the sign of fifth layer for more than a decade. However, the detection was proved near to impossible. The researchers are suspecting about the fifth after the study the travel time data of the seismic waves which are travelling inside the Earth. The data was captured by the International Seismological Centre. Following the data, the scientists and researchers used their new algorithm in order to search and discover the evidence of changes in the structure of the inner core of the Earth. Though it is difficult to detect the minute changes, the researchers somehow demonstrate that two separate cooling events occurred in the history of the planet.

Mar 09, 2021

New Bird-like Dinosaur Identified in Spain

A new genus and species of troodontid dinosaur that lived 66 million years ago at the very end of the Cretaceous period has been identified from an isolated bone found in Catalonia, Spain.
Tamarro insperatus lived in what is known as the Ibero-Armorican Island during the latest Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period, about 200,000 years before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
Tamarro insperatus was a type of troodontid (Troodontidae), a group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that includes kiwi-size (i.e. 0.8 kg for Mei long) to rhea-size species (i.e. 47 kg for Troodon formosus).
The discovery of Tamarro insperatus in the latest Maastrichtian deposits from southern Pyrenees represents the first unequivocal bone evidence of this group of small-sized non-avian theropods in Europe, and confirms the occurrence of troodontids in the theropod faunal assemblage of that continent.

Mar 08, 2021

Delhi among Top 3 States with most Contaminated Sites in India

According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, the national capital stands third on the list of states and Union territories with most contaminated sites.
There are 112 sites in India contaminated by toxic and hazardous substances. Besides, there are 168 sites that may be contaminated but require investigation and confirmation.
Odisha tops the list with 23 contaminated sites, followed by Uttar Pradesh (21) and Delhi (11).
According to the Union Environment Ministry, 'Contaminated Sites' are delineated areas in which the "constituents and characteristics of the toxic and hazardous substances, caused by humans, exist at levels and in conditions which pose existing or imminent threats to human health and the environment.

Mar 06, 2021

Researchers Find Five New Species of Shrub Frogs

Researchers from India and the United States have found the five new species of shrub frogs. These species of the frog were discovered from the Western Ghats which is a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot.
The five species of the frogs belong to the Old World tree frog of the family called Rhacophoridae. These species were discovered by researchers from Kerala Forest Research Institute, University of Delhi and University of Minnesota. This discovery is part of the long comprehensive study on Shrub frogs of genus Raorchestes in the Western Ghats. The research was carried out for the period of 10 years. The new species were identified and were distinct on the basis of several criteria including the external morphology of the frog, calling pattern, DNA, and behaviour.

Mar 04, 2021

Australia Building World's First Platypus Sanctuary

Australian conservationists unveiled plans to build the world's first refuge for the platypus, to promote breeding and rehabilitation as the duck-billed mammal faces extinction due to climate change.
The Taronga Conservation Society of Australia and the New South Wales State government said that they would build the specialist facility, mostly ponds and burrows for the semi-aquatic creatures, at a zoo 391 km (243 miles) from Sydney, by 2022, which could house up to 65 platypuses.

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