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Science & TechnologyMedium

At what spatial resolution, and for how long ahead, does the AIRWISE system linked with AATAL forecast air quality?

  1. A.400 metres, for the next 72 hours
  2. B.1 kilometre, for the next 48 hours
  3. C.100 metres, for the next 24 hours
  4. D.4 kilometres, for the next 96 hours

Correct answer

A. 400 metres, for the next 72 hours

Explanation

The correct answer is 400 metres, for the next 72 hours. AIRWISE, the Air Quality Warning and Integrated Decision Support System for Emissions, issues air-quality forecasts at a spatial resolution of 400 metres for the following 72 hours. That level of detail lets the system judge how pollution may differ between one pocket of Delhi and another, and name the sources expected to worsen the air at a particular place. The project director of MAQWS, Dr Sachin Ghude, described the forecasting capability as a major technological advance and a match for systems used abroad, with scope to extend it to other cities. Options B, C and D give resolutions and forecast windows that do not match the system: the resolution is finer than a kilometre and coarser than a hundred metres, and the window is three days rather than one, two or four. Note separately that Dr Jitendra Singh said the laboratory and the forecasting system together would give live information along with an outlook for the next four days.

Read the full article: AATAL Lab Opens in Delhi to Trace Air Pollution Sources

Q1.Science & TechnologyEasy

What does AATAL, the new facility set up for Delhi NCR, stand for?

  1. A.Advanced Aerosol Tracking and Atmospheric Laboratory
  2. B.Integrated Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Toxicity Analysis Laboratory
  3. C.All India Air Toxicity Assessment Laboratory
  4. D.Atmospheric Analysis and Thermal Aerosol Laboratory
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Integrated Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Toxicity Analysis Laboratory

That is the full form of AATAL, the facility inaugurated for Delhi NCR by Dr Jitendra Singh at the Delhi branch of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

Q2.Science & TechnologyMedium

Under which mission has the AATAL air pollution analysis laboratory for Delhi NCR been established?

  1. A.Mission LiFE
  2. B.National Clean Air Programme
  3. C.Mission Mausam
  4. D.Mission Vayu Shakti
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Mission Mausam

The laboratory has been established under Mission Mausam, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to deepen the scientific understanding of atmospheric pollution and to supply usable evidence for managing air quality in Delhi NCR.

Q3.Science & TechnologyEasy

Which share of Delhi's air pollution was shown as coming from transport on the screen at the inauguration of AATAL?

  1. A.About 10 per cent
  2. B.About 25 per cent
  3. C.About 45 per cent
  4. D.About 60 per cent
Show answer
Correct answer: B. About 25 per cent

Explaining what real-time source apportionment means, Dr Jitendra Singh pointed to a screen showing that at that moment transport was contributing roughly 25 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi, while the overall pollution level stood at around 180.

Q4.Science & TechnologyHard

According to the ARIES study, what happens to the shock in the accretion disc when a black hole spins rapidly?

  1. A.It is pushed farther from the black hole, giving only low-frequency QPOs
  2. B.It is pulled closer to the black hole, producing QPOs over a wider range of frequencies
  3. C.It disappears completely and no QPOs are produced
  4. D.It becomes permanently stable and stops oscillating
Show answer
Correct answer: B. It is pulled closer to the black hole, producing QPOs over a wider range of frequencies

The simulations showed that as spin increases, the oscillating shock moves inward and its oscillations grow more pronounced, so the predicted frequencies can exceed 100 Hz for a black hole of about ten solar masses, which matches the fast variations observed in black hole X-ray binary systems.

Q5.Science & TechnologyEasy

In the context of black hole research, QPO stands for:

  1. A.Quantum Photon Oscillation
  2. B.Quasi-Periodic Oscillation
  3. C.Quadrupole Phase Orbit
  4. D.Quasar Polar Outflow
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Quasi-Periodic Oscillation

Matter pulled towards a black hole forms an accretion flow that falls inward at high speed and emits non-thermal radiation, and the brightness of that radiation shows nearly regular variations known as quasi-periodic oscillations.