Scientists urge to protect glacial-period coastal red sand dunes
GS Paper: 1- Indian Heritage sites
Important for
Prelims exam: Erra Matti Dibbalu
Mains exam: Significance of Erra Matti Dibbalu
Why in News?
The city of Visakhapatnam is blessed with a number of sites that have geological importance. One among them is the coastal red sand dunes, popularly known as ‘Erra Matti Dibbalu’.
About ‘Erra Matti Dibbalu’
- Erra Matti Dibbalu also called as Red Sand dunes, is situated at the outskirts of Visakhapatnam City.
- It has light yellow sand dunes at the top, followed by a brick red sand unit, a reddish brown concretion bearing sand unit, and yellow sand at the bottom.
- They are fragile and prone to natural deterioration.
- This site was declared as a geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in 2014 and the Andhra Pradesh government has listed it under the category of ‘protected sites’ in 2016.
- The Erra Matti Dibbalu are spread across an area of about 20 sq km and the entire area has been notified as a Geo Heritage Site.
- Geo-heritage sites, also referred to as National Geological Monuments, are geological areas of scientific, cultural and educational value.
Importance of Erra Matti Dibbalu
- It helps in studying climate change impact as it has seen both the glacial and warm periods.
- The site also has archaeological significance, as studies of artefacts indicate an Upper Palaeolithic horizon and on cross dating assigned to Late Pleistocene epoch, which is 20,000 BC.
- Such sand deposits are rare and have been reported only from three places in the tropical regions in south Asia such as Teri Sands in Tamil Nadu, Erra Matti Dibbalu in Visakhapatnam and one more site in Sri Lanka.
- They do not occur in equatorial regions or temperate regions.
- The site was home to the pre-historic man as the excavations at several places in the region revealed stone implements of three distinctive periods and also the pottery of the Neolithic man.
Geological Survey of India (GSI)
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Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano erupts
GS PAPER 1: Volcanoes
Important for
Prelims Exam: About Volcanoes
Mains Exam: Implications of Volcanoes
Why in News?
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted on December 4 spewing hot ash clouds a mile into the sky and sending rivers of lava down its side, sparking the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people exactly one year after its last major eruption killed dozens.
Key Points
- The eruption of the highest mountain on Indonesia’s main island of Java, around 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of capital Jakarta, prompted authorities to raise the alert status to the highest level.
- “Hot avalanches” caused by piles of lava at the tip of the 3,676-metre (12,000 feet) volcano slid down after the eruption, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in a statement.
- The increased threat level “means the danger has threatened the people’s settlement and the volcano’s activity has escalated”, Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) said
- Japan’s weather agency had earlier warned that a tsunami was possible in the southern islands of Miyako and Yaeyama in Okinawa prefecture.
Implication of Eruption
- The internet in the area around Semeru was cut and phone signals were patchy after the eruption,
- The local rescue agency distributed free masks to the public because of the threat of polluted air to vulnerable residents.
- Mount Semeru last erupted exactly one year ago, killing at least 51 people and damaging more than 5,000 homes.
Mount Semeru
- The Semeru or Mount Semeru , is an active volcano located in East Java, Indonesia.
- It is located in a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian plate subducts under the Eurasia plate.
- It is the highest mountain on the island of Java.
- The name “Semeru” is derived from Meru, the central world mountain in Hinduism, or Sumeru, the abode of gods.
- This stratovolcano is also known as Mahameru, meaning “The Great Mountain” in Sanskrit. It is one of the more popular hiking destinations in Indonesia.
Volcano
A volcano is an opening in the earth’s crust through which gases, molten rocks materials (lava), ash, steam etc. are emitted outward in the course of an eruption. Such vents or openings occur in those parts of the earth’s crust where the rock strata are relatively weak. Volcanic activity is an example of endogenic process. Depending upon the explosive nature of the volcano, different land forms can be formed such as a plateau (if the volcano is not explosive) or a mountain (if the volcano is explosive in nature).
Types of Volcano
Conical Vent and Fissure Vent : A conical vent is a narrow cylindrical vent through which magma flows out violently. Conical vents are common in andesitic (composite or strato volcano) volcanism.A fissure vent, also known as a volcanic fissure or eruption fissure, is a narrow, linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts, usually without any explosive activity. The vent is often a few meters wide and may be many kilometres long. Fissure vents are common in basaltic volcanism.
Composite Cones or Strato volcanoes:They are conical or central type volcanic landforms.Along with andesitic lava, large quantities of pyroclastic material and ashes find their way to the ground.They are accumulated in the vicinity of the vent openings leading to formation of layers, and this makes the mounts appear as composite volcanoes.The highest and most common volcanoes have composite cones.Example: Vesuvius, Mt. Fuji, Stromboli (Lighthouse of the Mediterranean) etc.
Shield Volcanoes or Lava domes:These volcanoes are mostly made up of basalt, a type of lava that is very fluid when erupted. They are not steep.They become explosive if somehow water gets into the vent; otherwise, they are less explosive.Example: Mauna Loa (Hawaii).
Lava Plains and Basalt Plateaus:Sometimes, a very thin magma escapes through cracks and fissures in the earth’s surface and flows after intervals for a long time, spreading over a vast area, finally producing a layered, undulating (wave like), flat surface.Example: Deccan traps (peninsular India), Snake Basin, U.S.A, Icelandic Shield, Canadian Shield etc.
Cinder cone (Tephra cones):Cinder cones are small volume cones consisting predominantly of tephra that result from strombolian eruptions.They usually consist of basaltic to andesitic material.
Calderas:After the eruption of magma has ceased from the cones, the crater frequently turns into a lake at a later time.Water may collect in the crater. This lake is called a ‘caldera’.Example: Lake Toba in Sumatra, Crater Lake in Oregon, USA.
Mid-Ocean Ridges:These volcanoes occur in the oceanic areas. There is a system of mid-ocean ridges more than 70,000 km long that stretches through all the ocean basins. The central portion of this ridge experiences frequent eruptions.The lava is basaltic in nature.Cools slowly and flows through longer distances.The lava here is responsible for sea floor spreading.Example: Mid-Atlantic ocean ridge; extension is seen in the Iceland.
Intrusive Volcanic Landforms: Intrusive landforms are formed when magma cools within the crust. The intrusive activity of volcanoes gives rise to various forms.
Batholiths:These are huge mass of igneous rocks, usually of granite.These rock masses formed due to cooling down and solidification of hot magma inside the earth.They appear on the surface only after the denudation processes remove the overlying materials and may be exposed on surface after erosion.Example: Wicklow mountains of Ireland; the uplands of Brittany, France.
Laccoliths:These are large dome-shaped intrusive bodies connected by a pipe-like conduit from below.These are basically intrusive counterparts of an exposed domelike batholith.Example: The laccoliths of Henry mountains in the Utah, USA.As and when the lava moves upwards, a portion of the same may tend to move in a horizontal direction wherever it finds a weak plane.In case it develops into a saucer shape, concave to the sky body, it is called Lopolith.Example: The Bushveld lopolith of Transvaal, South Africa.
Phacolith:A wavy mass of intrusive rocks, at times, is found at the base of synclines or at the top of anticline in folded igneous country.Such wavy materials have a definite conduit to source beneath in the form of magma chambers (subsequently developed as batholiths). These are called the Phacoliths.Example: Corndon hill in Shropshire, England.
Sills:These are solidified horizontal lava layers inside the earth.The near horizontal bodies of the intrusive igneous rocks are called sill or sheet, depending on the thickness of the material.The thinner ones are called sheets while the thick horizontal deposits are called sills.Example: Great whin sill of NE England
Dykes:When the lava makes its way through cracks and the fissures developed in the land, it solidifies almost perpendicular to the ground.It gets cooled in the same position to develop a wall-like structure. Such structures are called dykes.These are the most commonly found intrusive forms in the western Maharashtra area. These are considered the feeders for the eruptions that led to the development of the Deccan traps. Cleveland Dyke of Yorkshire, England.
India tops index on social hostilities relating to religion
GS Paper: 2- Social Issues
Important for
Prelims exam: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
Mains exam: Social Hostilities Index (SHI), Religious intolerance
Why in News?
India ranked relatively low in the Government Restrictions Index (GRI) measures government laws, policies and actions that restrict beliefs and practices.
About Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
- The Social Hostilities Index (SHI) measures acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizations or groups.
- The index comprises 13 metrics, including religion-related armed conflict or terrorism and mob or sectarian violence.
- Questions used to compute the SHI included whether the country saw violence motivated by religious hatred or bias, whether individuals faced harassment or intimidation motivated by religious hatred or bias and whether there was mob violence against those of particular religious groups.
- Among the most populous countries, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt and Bangladesh had “very high” social hostilities involving religion, according to the report.
How terribly has India fared?
- AT 9.4 out of a maximum possible score of 10, India’s Social Hostilities Index (SHI) in 2020 was worse than neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan, and a further increase in its own index value for 2019, the Pew data showed.
- India has faced harsh criticism due to its crackdown on a ‘religious’ congregation held in New Delhi defying the COVID pandemic.
Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
- India fared much better on a second index: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI).
- This index looks at laws, policies and state actions restricting religious beliefs and practices.
- China ranked the worst, with a score of 9.3.
- India’s 34th rank was enough to categorize it among countries with “high” levels of such government restrictions.
- The GRI comprises 20 measures, including efforts by governments to ban particular faiths, prohibit conversion, limit preaching or give preferential treatment to one or more religious groups.
Official Data
- By India’s own official crime statistics, the picture is more mixed.
- According to police data, religious riots for which cases were filed rose substantially in 2020, and declined again in 2021.
- But there have been significant variations over time, and the numbers are too low as a share of overall rioting incidents to indicate a definitive trend.
- Moreover, the home ministry no longer provides data on “communal incidents”, and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) now only publishes data on religious “riots”.
RUSSIAN OIL PRICE CAP
GS PAPER 2: Global groupings
Important for
Prelims Exam: About Russian oil cap
Mains Exam: Significance of Russian oil cap
Why in News?
The European Union, G7, and Australia have decided to cap the price of Russia’s oil exports at $60 per barrel in an attempt to limit the fossil fuel earnings that support Moscow’s budget, its military and the war in Ukraine.
What is the price cap and how would it work?
- U.S. Treasury Secretary has proposed the cap with other Group of 7 allies as a way to limit Russia’s earnings while keeping Russian oil flowing to the global economy.
- The aim: hurt Moscow’s finances while avoiding a sharp oil price spike if Russia’s oil is suddenly taken off the global market.
- Insurance companies and other firms needed to ship oil would only be able to deal with Russian crude if the oil is priced at or below the cap. Most insurers are located in the EU or the United Kingdom and could be required to participate in the cap.
How would oil keep flowing to the global economy?
- Universal enforcement of the insurance ban, imposed by the EU and U.K. in earlier rounds of sanctions, could take so much Russian crude off the market that oil prices would spike, Western economies would suffer, and Russia would see increased earnings from whatever oil it can ship in defiance of the embargo.
- Russia, the world’s No. 2 oil producer, has already rerouted much of its supply to India, China and other Asian countries at discounted prices after Western customers shunned it even before the EU ban.
What effect would different cap levels have?
- A $60 cap will not have much impact on Russia’s finances, said, an energy policy expert at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. That “will almost go unnoticed,” he said, because it would be near where Russian oil is already selling.
- Russian Urals blend sells at a significant discount to international benchmark Brent and fell below $60 for the first time in months this week on fears of reduced demand from China due to outbreaks of COVID-19.
- “Up front, the cap is not a satisfying number,” Tagliapietra said, but it could prevent the Kremlin from profiting if oil prices suddenly shoot higher and the cap bites.
- “The cap might be lowered over time if we want to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin,” he said. “The problem is: We have already spent a lot of months waiting for a measure to dent” Putin’s oil profits.
- If the cap had been as low as $50, it would cut into Russia’s earnings and make it impossible for Russia to balance its state budget, with Moscow believed to require around $60 to $70 per barrel to do that, its so-called “fiscal break-even.”
- However, a $50 cap would still have been above Russia’s cost of production of between $30 and $40 per barrel, giving Moscow an incentive to keep selling oil simply to avoid having to cap wells that can be hard to restart.
- Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute for International Finance in Washington, tweeted last week that a $30 cap would “give Russia the financial crisis it deserves.”
- The wrangling over where to set the cap highlighted the disagreement on which goal to pursue: hurting Russia’s finances or taming inflation, with the U.S. coming down on the side of controlling price increases, said a sanctions expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Berlin.
What is Russia and other countries won’t go along?
- Russia has said it will not observe a cap and will halt deliveries to countries that do. Russia could retaliate by shutting off shipments in hopes of profiting from a sharply higher global oil price on whatever it can sell around the sanctions.
- Buyers in China and India might not go along with the cap, while Russia or China could try to set up their own insurance providers to replace those barred by U.S., U.K. and Europe.
- Russia also could sell oil off the books by using “dark fleet” tankers with obscure ownership, as have Venezuela and Iran. Oil could be transferred from one ship to another and mixed with oil of similar quality to disguise its origin.
- Even under those circumstances, the cap would make it “more costly, time-consuming and cumbersome” for Russia to sell oil around the restrictions, Shagina said.
- The greater distances involved in shipping oil to Asia means up to four times more tanker capacity is needed — and not everyone will take Russian insurance.
What about the EU embargo?
- Russian producers likely won’t be able to reroute all their oil from Europe, formerly their biggest customer, and some will likely be lost to the global market — at least at first.
- Analysts at Commerzbank say the EU embargo and cap together could result in “a noticeable tightening on the oil market in early 2023” and expect the price of international benchmark Brent to climb back to $95 per barrel in coming weeks. On Friday, Brent slid to $85.48 a barrel.
- The biggest impact from the EU embargo may not come Monday but on Feb. 5, when Europe’s additional ban on refinery products made from oil — such as diesel fuel come into effect.
India’s aviation safety ranking
GS Paper: 3- Economy
Important for
Prelims exam: India’s aviation safety ranking
Mains exam: India’s aviation safety ranking and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Why in News?
With the country getting its highest-ever rank in the ICAO aviation safety rankings, DGCA chief Arun Kumar said the challenge now is to maintain and further improve the air safety ecosystem.
Key highlights
- In the latest rankings by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), India’s position has jumped to the 48th place from the 102nd spot in 2018.
- The ranking, which also places it ahead of China (49), is the highest ever received by India, according to DGCA.
- With a score of 85.49% each, India and Georgia are at the 48th position. Neighbouring Pakistan’s score is 70.39%.
- The rankings are topped by Singapore with a score of 99.69%. It is followed by the UAE at the second position with a score of 98.8% and the Republic of Korea is at the third place (98.24%).
- Others in the top ten are France (4th; 96.42%), Iceland (5th; 95.73%), Australia (6th; 95.04%), Canada (7th; 94.95%), Brazil (8th; 94.72%), Ireland (9th; 94.6%) and Chile (10th; 93.9%), as per the DGCA.
- The rankings are for 187 countries and assessments were done at different points of time. Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16.
About International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), intergovernmental specialized agency associated with the United Nations (UN).
- It was established in 1947 by the Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944), which had been signed by 52 states.
- The ICAO is dedicated to developing safe and efficient international air transport for peaceful purposes and ensuring a reasonable opportunity for every state to operate international airlines.
- The organization’s permanent headquarters are in Montreal.
- The ICAO looks at eight critical elements of the safety oversight system, including primary aviation legislation, specific operating regulations, resolution of safety issues and surveillance obligations.