Geo-Eco in News

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Desalinisation : 

• Process that extracts mineral components from saline water , the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture.
• Methods : 
• Vacuum distillation or Thermal — boiling to leave impurities behind. 
• LTTD Technique Low temparature thermal Distillation without membranes in Kavarati , minikoy by NIOT  because of (easy , less expensive , many sources for energy availability )
• Reverse Osmosis RO at the Largest desalinisation plant in India at Minjur of Chennai , It needs Membrane for filtration which is costly because of high cost of electricity  per se.
• multi-stage flash distillation :
• Multiple-effect distillation (MED) :
• Vapor-compression evaporation :
• Freeze thaw :
• Solar Evaporation :
• Electrodialysis reversal :
• Membrane distillation :
• Wave powered distillation :
• After distillation Calcium , Magnesium and other healthy minerals are added in purified water to make it pure drinking water. 
• Concerns in RO process :
• High cost of electricity consumption
• Remaining by-products elements (include 40% waste saline water contains Brine ) are thrown in oceans which can cause pollution and can affect marine life. 
• Hence discharge of Brine into oceans by keeping the marine life in mind.

Methods

Distillation Multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) Multiple-effect distillation (MED) Vapor-compression (VC) Ion exchange Membrane processes Electrodialysis reversal (EDR) Reverse osmosis (RO) Nanofiltration (NF) Membrane distillation (MD) Forward osmosis (FO) Freezing desalination Geothermal desalination Solar desalination Solar humidification–dehumidification (HDH) Multiple-effect humidification (MEH) Seawater greenhouse Methane hydrate crystallization High grade water recycling Wave-powered desalination

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a process that can produce electricity by using the temperature difference between deep cold ocean water and warm tropical surface waters.









Denaturation : 

• is a process in which proteins or nucleic acids lose the quaternary structure, tertiary structure & secondary structure which is present in their native state, by application of some external stress or compound such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent (e.g., alcohol or chloroform), radiation or heat.
• Protein denaturation is also a consequence of cell death.  Denatured proteins lose their 3D structure and therefore cannot function.

Functional proteins have four levels of structural organization:
1) Primary structure: the linear structure of amino acids in the polypeptide chain
2) Secondary structure: hydrogen bonds between peptide group chains in an alpha helix or beta sheet
3) Tertiary structure: three-dimensional structure of alpha helixes and beta helixes folded
4) Quaternary structure: three-dimensional structure of multiple polypeptides and how they fit together.

Process of denaturation:
1) Functional protein showing a quaternary structure
2) When heat is applied it alters the intramolecular bonds of the protein
3) Unfolding of the polypeptides (amino acids)









Kelp Forest








WINDS across the World :  map is here ----> Winds of World Region wise
Mistral : Southern Europe
Blizzard :  Northern America
Sirrocco : (originates in North Africa) --> passes through Mediterenean Sea ---> blows in South Europe
Harmattan : Central Africa




The islands of Arabian Sea include Lakshadweep and Minicoy.
-> 9 Degree Channel divides Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands.
-> While, the goup of Lakshadweep islands is itself divided by 11 Degree Channel, as I told above. [Source: 11th NCERT 'India: Physical Environment' Chapter 2]


Coastline :

• Canada has the longest coastline in the world.
• Norway has the second longest coastline in the World, and the longest in Europe. 

In India, Coastline are in order

Gujarat > Tamilnadu >Andhra


Coastal Regulation Zone : 

• Under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 of India, notification was issued in February 1991, for regulation of activities in the coastal area by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). 
• As per the notification, the coastal land up to 500m from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of 100m along banks of creeks, estuaries, backwater and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations, is called the Coastal Regulation Zone(CRZ).
• CRZ-1:  
• are ecologically sensitive areas , 
• essential in maintaining the ecosystem of the coast , 
• lie between low and high tide line. 
• Exploration of natural gas and extraction of salt are permitted.
• CRZ-2: 
• The areas form up to the shoreline of the coast.
• Unauthorised structures are not allowed to construct in this zone.
• CRZ-3:
• rural and urban localities which fall outside the 1 and 2. 
• Only certain activities related to agriculture even some public facilities are allowed in this zone
• CRZ-4: 
• Lies in the aquatic area up to territorial limits.
• Fishing and allied activities are permitted in this zone.
• Solid waste should be let off in this zone. 
• This zone covered coastal stretches in islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshdweep

Rill erosion occurs when runoff water forms small channels as it concentrates down a slope. These rills can be up to 0.3m deep. If they become any deeper than 0.3m they are referred to as gully erosion.