[Mission 2023] STATIC QUIZ, 3 November 2022 – Environment

Solution: b)

Due to greenhouse gas emissions, global warming is already 1°C higher than the pre-industrial levels. There is vast evidence that this has serious consequences for ecosystems and human being. The IPCC’s special report on Oceans and Cryosphere (published in 2019) reveals that the ocean is 0.8 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial age. It is more acidic, and less productive because of the carbon emission that was sunk by the oceans.

The impact of ocean warming would be an increase in the frequency of tropical cyclone winds and rainfall, as well as an increase in extreme waves, all of which would be accompanied by a rise in relative sea level.

Solution: c)

Burning of fossil fuels (which contain sulphur and nitrogenous matter) such as coal and oil in power stations and furnaces or petrol and diesel in motor engines produce sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

SO2 and NO2 after oxidation and reaction with water are major contributors to acid rain, because polluted air usually contains particulate matter that catalyze the oxidation.

These lead to formation of acid rain that has deleterious effect on the overall ecology of the region.

Solution: a)

The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different greenhouse gases. Specifically, it is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of any greenhouse gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2).

The larger the GWP, the more that a given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2 over that time period. The time period usually used for GWPs is 100 years.

CO2, by definition, has a GWP of 1 regardless of the time period used, because it is the gas being used as the reference.

Solution: c)

• Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). IPCC reports are also a key input into international climate change negotiations.
• The IPCC is an organization of governments that are members of the United Nations or WMO. Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. The IPCC does not conduct its own research.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the United Nations to provide the public scientific information on climate change.

The IPCC had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, an acknowledgement of its efforts in creating awareness for the fight against climate change.

Solution: c)

About 56 million years ago, our Earth experienced a natural period of global warming triggered by a volcanic eruption. This period was known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and there were huge amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. This caused about 8°C surface ocean warming in the high latitudes. Several studies have shown that during this period ocean acidification caused mass extinctions in the deep ocean and there were changes in the biota in the surface ocean.

National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, is the largest network of science centres/museums in the world functioning under a single administrative control.

It is primarily engaged in spreading the culture of science in the society especially among students with a motto of ‘Communicating Science to Empower People’ through its network of Science Centres spread across India. NCSM is the implementing agency for the Science City Scheme for developing new science centres in the country of national, regional and district level.