General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

Feb 03, 2021

Indian Researchers Discover New Gecko Species In Arunachal Pradesh

A team of researchers from five institutes across India have discovered a new gecko species in Arunachal Pradesh. Their discovery was published in the international peer-reviewed journal Evolutionary Systematics.
The new species, which belongs to the genus Cyrtodactylus commonly known as bent-toed geckos, was discovered by Zeeshan Mirza of the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bengaluru, Harshal Bhosale and Mandar Sawant of the Bombay Natural History Society in Mumbai, Faizan Ansari of the Madras Crocodile Bank in Chennai, Gaurang Gowande of Ferguson College in Pune, Pushkar Phansalkar from Pune, and Harshil Patel of the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University in Surat.
The researchers have named the species Cyrtodactylus arunachalensis after the state in which it was discovered.

Feb 01, 2021

Girl Discovers 220 Million Year Old Dinosaur Footprint

A four-year-old girl has made a big discovery.
Walking along a beach in Wales with her father, she spotted an extremely well-preserved dinosaur footprint that has excited palaeontologists worldwide.
Lily Wilder made the discovery near Bendricks Bay in south Wales, U.K., finding an imprint thought to have been left 220 million years ago.
Although it is impossible to identify exactly which type of dinosaur left the 10-centimetre (3.9-inch) footprint, some facts are discernable.
It's likely the footprint was made by a dinosaur that stood about 75 centimetres (29.5 inches) tall and 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) long.

Uttarakhand Sets up First Arboretum for Shivalik Range with 210 Species of Trees

A first of its kind arboretum conserving over 210 species of trees found in the Shivalik range of the Himalayas was inaugurated in Uttarakhand's Nainital district.
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forests (CCF) and in-charge of forest research of state forest department said that Shivalik range or Outer Himalayas spreads across states and union territories like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and seven states in the country's northeast.
The arboretum was inaugurated by Ajay Singh Rawat, a noted environmentalist from Uttarakhand.
The Shivalik Arboretum has over 210 tree and shrub species, making it one of the biggest arboretum in the state, officials said. Some trees preserved include, Kafal (Myrica esculenta), Buransh, (Rhododendron arboretum), Tejpat (Cinnamomum tamala) and Sanjeevani (Sellaginella bryopteris).

Jan 31, 2021

National Marine Turtle Action Plan Launched

Considering the need to have a conservation paradigm for marine megafauna and marine turtles, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released 'Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines' and 'National Marine Turtle Action Plan' in New Delhi.
Speaking at the virtual launch event the Union Environment Minister said that both floral and faunal diversity including the marine biodiversity is the beauty of India, and we need to conserve it with the best possible action and interventions.
India has rich marine biodiversity along a vast coastline of over 7,500 km. From colourful fish, sharks, including Whale Sharks, turtles and big mammals like whales, dolphins and dugongs to bright corals, marine habitats not only harbour diverse species but also provide resources essential for human wellbeing.

Jan 30, 2021

2021 to be Indo-French Year of the Environment

The Union environment ministry launched the Indo-French Year of the Environment along with Barbara Pompili, the French Minister for Ecological Transition.
The Indo-French Year of the Environment over the period 2021-2022 would be based on five main themes including environmental protection, climate change, biodiversity conservation, sustainable urban development, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
From the French side, it will be implemented by the Ministry of Ecological Transition along with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
From the India, the projects will be coordinated by MoEFCC along with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. A joint screening committee will also be set up to finalise the calendar of the events for the Indo-French Year of the Environment.

Jan 29, 2021

Split Signals End for Remnant of Antarctic Iceberg A68a

The once-mighty iceberg A68a looks to be in its death throes.
The largest fragment from a block of Antarctic ice that originally measured some 5,800 sq km (2,240 sq miles) in area has suffered another major split.
Satellite imagery shows at least two segments drifting close together about 135 km south-east of the British territory of South Georgia. They will no doubt soon move further apart.
For more than three years, A68a was the biggest iceberg in the world.
At its greatest extent, it was about a quarter of the size of Wales - or New Jersey or Israel.

Martian Mineral, Rare on Earth, Found Locked in Antarctic Ice

Scientists boring more than a mile deep into Antarctic ice have unearthed a mineral that's rarely seen on Earth but found in abundance on Mars.
The yellow-brown mineral, called jarosite, requires both water and acidic conditions to form, according to NASA — conditions that are hard to find now on the Red Planet.
Nonetheless, after the Opportunity rover first discovered jarosite on Mars in 2004, the mineral turned up in several Martian locations, leaving scientists to wonder how the mineral became so common, Science reported.
Some theorized that, when ice covered the planet billions of years ago, dust containing the required minerals — iron, sulfate and potassium — may have been trapped inside.

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