Daily Quiz #20 UPSC Prelims Marathon – August 24, 2019

Explanation: Pulicat Lake is the located 60 km north of Chennai city and is the second largest brackish – water lake or lagoon in India. The river is about 60 km with width varying from 0.2 km to 17.5 km. Salinity values of the lake vary from zero during the monsoon to about 52 ppm during post and pre–monsoon seasons. It straddles the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states on the Coromandal Coast in South India. The lake encompasses the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. The barrier island of Sriharikota separates the lake from the Bay of Bengal. Three major rivers, which feed the lagoon, are the Arani River at the southern tip, the Kalangi River from the northwest and the Swarnamukhi River at the northern end, in addition to some smaller streams. It was about 461 sq. km. in its average area of water spread, but now it has shrunk so much that it may be hardly 350 sq. km. today, and is still shrinking rapidly. Average depth of water has reduced from 1.5 m in the early twentieth to about 1 m.
The lagoon has rich flora and fauna diversity, which supports active commercial fisheries and a large and varied bird population. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) declared the Pulicat lagoon system a Ramsar site of international importance and the World Wide Fund for Nature declared it a protected area.

Explanation: There are four major types (or “ranks”) of coal. Rank refers to steps in a slow, natural process called “coalification,” during which buried plant matter changes into an ever denser, drier, more carbon rich, and harder material. The four ranks are:
•Anthracite: The highest rank of coal. It is a hard, brittle, and black lustrous coal, often referred to as hard coal, containing a high percentage of fixed carbon and a low percentage of volatile matter. In India, it is found only in Jammu and Kashmir and that too in small quantity.
•Bituminous: Bituminous coal is a middle rank coal between sub bituminous and anthracite. Bituminous usually has a high heating (Btu) value and is the most common type of coal used in electricity generation in the United States. Bituminous coal appears shiny and smooth when you first see it, but look closer and you may see it has layers. most widely available and used coal in India.
•Sub bituminous: Sub bituminous coal is black in color and dull (not shiny), and has a higher heating value than lignite.
•Lignite: Lignite coal, aka brown coal, is the lowest grade coal with the least concentration of carbon.
Also, there is peat. Peat is not actually coal, but rather the precursor to coal. Peat is a soft organic material consisting of partly decayed plant and, in some cases, deposited mineral matter. When peat is placed under high pressure and heat, it becomes coal.

Explanation: There’s probably only one religion in the world that’s founded solely on the principle of conserving Nature. That’s the living religion of the Bishnois of Rajasthan.
The Bishnois consider trees as sacred, but their empathy extends to every living being on earth. So they protect the entire ecosystem that exists in their villages. Animals like blackbucks and chinkaras, and birds like vultures, partridges, peacocks and even the endangered Great Indian Bustard, find the Bishnoi village a safe haven. Not only do the Bishnois protect them from poachers, they also actively participate in helping them lead a life of plenty. By allowing them to graze freely in their farmlands; by keeping stone vessels near their home that are always filled with water; and even hanging water-filled pots from the branches of trees for the birds to drink from.

Explanation: Blue baby syndrome, also known as infant methemoglobinemia, is a condition where a baby’s skin turns blue. This occurs due to a decreased amount of hemoglobin in the baby’s blood. The most common cause of blue baby syndrome is water contaminated with nitrates. After a baby drinks formula made with nitrate-rich water, the body converts the nitrates into nitrites. These nitrites bind to the hemoglobin in the body, forming methemoglobin, which is unable to carry oxygen. Nitrates are most common in drinking water in farming communities that use well water. This contamination is due to the use of fertilizers and manure.

Explanation: GEF is a partnership among UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank. It operates as a mechanism for providing new and additional grant and concessional funding to meet the agreed incremental costs of measures to achieve agreed global environmental benefits in the four focal areas – Climate change; Biological diversity; International waters; and Ozone layer depletion. In 2001, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) program was also added in the GEF. The agreed incremental cost of activities concerning land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation, as they relate to the four focal areas is eligible for funding.