Excel Civils Academy

Sol. 1
Explanation:

Recently, some researchers studied a meteorite from Katol, Maharashtra which was from the meteor shower of 2012.

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.

Findings of the Study:

Depth of Olivine: Initial studies revealed that the host rock was mainly composed of olivine, an olive-green mineral.

Olivine is the most abundant mineral in our Earth’s upper mantle.

Formation of Bridgmanite: Various computational and experimental studies have shown that about 80% of the Earth’s lower mantle is made up of bridgmanite.

Bridgmanite is a magnesium-silicate mineral, MgSiO3, the most abundant mineral on earth.
The bridgmanite of the Katol meteorite sample closely matches with the bridgmanite on Earth.

Studying the meteorite could also tell us more about how our Earth evolved from being a magma ocean to a rocky planet and researchers can unearth more details about the formation of Earth. It is important to study these individual minerals to get a thorough idea of how and when the Earth’s layers formed. Scientists can also decode how bridgmanite crystallized during the final stages of our Earth’s formation.

Sol. 3
Explanation:
This award has been given in recognition of the projects implemented — like Kochi Metro, Water Metro (Water Connectivity with the same experience as metro) and E-mobility — to enhance the transport facilities in the city of Kochi.

Sol. 4
Explanation:
Endosulfan is an organochlorine insecticide which was first introduced in the 1950s and is commonly known by its trade name Thiodan.

Usage: Sprayed on crops like cotton, cashew, fruits, tea, paddy, tobacco etc. for control of pests such as whiteflies, aphids, beetles, worms etc.

Endosulfan in the environment gets accumulated in food chains and it might cause problems like physical deformities, cancer, birth disorders and damage to the brain and nervous system in human beings.
The Supreme Court in India has banned the manufacture, sale, use, and export of endosulfan throughout the country, citing its harmful health effects in 2011.
Endosulfan is listed under both the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

Sol. 4
Explanation:
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1994 Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994 Agreement).
ISA is the organization through which States Parties to UNCLOS organize and control all mineral resources related activities in the area for the benefit of mankind as a whole. In doing so, ISA has the mandate to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from
harmful effects that may arise from deep-seabed related activities.
The Area and its resources are the common heritage of mankind. The Area covers around 54 per cent of the total area of the world’s oceans.