Daily Quiz #8 UPSC Prelims Marathon – August 9, 2019

Explanation: Known to sailors around the world as the doldrums, the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, (ITCZ, pronounced and sometimes referred to as the “itch”), is a belt around the Earth extending approximately five degrees north and south of the equator. Here, the prevailing trade winds of the northern hemisphere blow to the southwest and collide with the southern hemisphere’s driving northeast trade winds.
Due to intense solar heating near the equator, the warm, moist air is forced up into the atmosphere like a hot air balloon. As the air rises, it cools, causing persistent bands of showers and storms around the Earth’s midsection. The rising air mass finally subsides in what is known as the horse latitudes, where the air moves downward toward Earth’s surface.
Because the air circulates in an upward direction, there is often little surface wind in the ITCZ. That is why sailors well know that the area can be calm sailing ships for weeks. And that’s why they call it the doldrums.

Explanation: THE KUROSHIO IS a warm northeasterly ocean current off the coast of JAPAN. This current is also called the gulf stream of the Pacific or Japan Current. Kuroshio means “the black stream” in Japanese, named after the deep ultramarine color of the high salinity water, which is found flowing north of the current’s axis. The Kuroshio originates from the greater part of North Equatorial current, which divides east of the PHILIPPINES. The Kuroshio is the current running from Formosa to about 35 degrees N latitude. It continues directly as a warm current known as the Kuroshio Extension, from there it is continues as the North Pacific current. Water enters the Kuroshio over a broad front, 621 mi (1,000 km) in width, which then accelerates and narrows. A narrow band less than 62 mi (100 km) in width and about .6 mi (1 km) of maximum depth runs for 1,864 mi (3,000 km) along the western edge of the Pacific, between the Philippines and the east coast of Japan. A narrow, intense flow persists for 930 mi to 1,240 mi (1,500 to 2,000 km) after the current leaves Japan’s east coast, after which there is a marked drop in velocity. Here, there is no land boundary on the left hand side to generate a fractional boundary layer.

Explanation: Lake Manasa sarovar is relatively round in shape with the circumference of 88 km (54.7 mi). Its depth reaches a maximum depth of 90 m (300 ft) and its surface area is 320 km2 (123.6 sq mi). It is connected to nearby Lake Rakshastal by the natural Ganga Chhu channel. Lake Manasarovar is near the source of the Sutlej, which the easternmost large tributary of the Indus, is nearby are the sources of the Brahmaputra River, the Indus River, and the Ghaghara, an important tributary of the Ganges.

Explanation: Planetary Winds: The winds blowing throughout the year from high pressure belts to low pressure belts in the same direction are called “planetary or prevailing winds”. Due to the effect of the rotation of the earth, the direction of the winds tends to deflect, instead of blowing directly from one pressure belt to another. These winds blow throughout the year and are controlled by the latitudinal pressure belts. They blow over vast area of continents and oceans.
The main planetary winds are:
•Trade Winds
•Westerlies
•Polar Easterlies