Which institute reconstructed 4,600 years of monsoon and environmental history from Karela Lake?
- A.Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
- B.Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences
- C.National Institute of Oceanography
- D.Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology based in Lucknow. Its scientists traced past environmental conditions at Karela Lake using stable isotopes, vegetation changes and archaeological and sedimentary records, and built a record stretching back about four thousand six hundred years. Option A, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, works mainly on the geology of the Himalaya. Option C, the National Institute of Oceanography, studies the seas around India. Option D, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, models present-day monsoon behaviour rather than reconstructing ancient climate from lake sediment. Candidates should connect the Birbal Sahni Institute with palaeosciences, fossil and pollen studies, and the reconstruction of past climates in India.
Read the full article: BSIP Study Reconstructs 4,600 Years of Monsoon History
Practice Questions
Karela Lake, the site of the study, is located near which city?
- A.Patna
- B.Prayagraj
- C.Lucknow
- D.Kanpur
Show answer
Karela Lake is an oxbow lake at Hulas Khera in Mohanlal Ganj, near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, and lies in the Central Ganga Plain.
Read the full explanation →Which of these climate events was identified among the four major phases in the study?
- A.The Little Ice Age
- B.The Carboniferous glaciation
- C.The Cretaceous thermal maximum
- D.The Permian extinction
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The researchers identified four major environmental phases in the lake record, associated with key climate events that include the arid event of about four point two thousand years ago, the Roman Warm Period and the Little Ice Age.
Read the full explanation →Which desert, identified as a gypsum-bearing Martian analogue site in this study, lies outside India?
- A.Atacama Desert, Chile
- B.Sahara Desert, Africa
- C.Gobi Desert, Mongolia
- D.Kalahari Desert, Botswana
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Gypsum was identified there and also in the Tiruchirappalli Badlands, a semi-arid geological and palaeoclimatic terrain in Tamil Nadu, and both places therefore qualify as Martian analogue sites for the study of past water activity.
Read the full explanation →Which institution's research team identified the Martian analogue sites using a laser Raman spectrometer?
- A.Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
- B.University of Kerala, Department of Geology
- C.Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru
- D.National Centre for Earth Science Studies
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The laser Raman spectrometer used for the work is supported under the DST-FIST programme at that department, and the research team was led by Dr. Sajin Kumar K. S., who is the Project Coordinator of DST-FIST.
Read the full explanation →Which mineral identified at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu helped establish it as a Martian analogue site?
- A.Melanterite
- B.Gypsum
- C.Hematite
- D.Olivine
Show answer
At Neyveli the mineral forms from marcasite in the lignite substratum through sulphide oxidation, and it records short-lived wet, acidic and oxidising conditions of the kind believed to have produced sulphates on Mars.
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