Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier Ice Shelf could Collapse within Five Years
As per reports, the demise of a West Antarctic glacier poses the world's biggest threat to raise sea levels before 2100 — and an ice shelf that's holding it back from the sea could collapse within three to five years.
Thwaites Glacier is one of the largest, highest glaciers in Antarctica. Spanning 120 kilometers across, the glacier is roughly the size of Florida, and were the whole thing to fall into the ocean, it would raise sea levels by 65 centimeters, or more than two feet. Right now, its melting is responsible for about 4 percent of global sea level rise.
But a large portion of the glacier is about to lose its tenuous grip on the seafloor, and that will dramatically speed up its seaward slide.
Dec 09, 2021
Kazhuveli Wetland is 16th Bird Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu
The Kazhuveli wetland situated in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu was declared as the 16th Bird Sanctuary by Surpiya Sahu, Environment and Forest Secretary, at the Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change. The declaration was made under subsection (1) of section 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The Kazhuveli wetland is referred to as the 2nd largest Brackish Water Lake in South India, only after Pulicat Lake.
Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary covers 5,151.60 hectares of land in Vanur taluk and 3,027.25 hectares in Marakkanam taluks.
The sanctuary lies adjacent to the Bay of Bengal along the East coast of Tamil Nadu.
Kazhuveli is a wetland of international importance that is spread over 670 square km in the east coast of Tamil Nadu.
Note- Southern part of the wetland was declared reserved land in the year 2001.
The Sanctuary covers 13 villages in the Villupuram district.
The place is home to a diverse species of flora and fauna, giving accommodation to long-distance migrant birds from Central Asia and Siberia.
Dec 01, 2021
Researchers Discover New Marine Reptile
Kyhytysuka sachicarum is a new marine reptile species discovered by an international team of researchers. It is an extinct species. It was discovered from fossils found in central Columbia. Earlier scientists believed that it belonged to Platypterygius genus. Recently, it was discovered that it is a different species. And thus it is now named as Kyhytysuka sachicarum.
Kyhytysuka means "the one that cuts with something sharp". The word belongs to the indigenous language of central Columbia.
The new species has been named Kyhytysuka sachicarum to honour the Muisca culture of central Columbia. The Muisca are also called Chibcha. They were conquered by the Spanish in 1537. They were mainly agrarians. They also extracted salt from the sea.