Coastal Defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ (GS Paper 3, Defence)
Why in news?
- Recently, the third edition of the ‘Pan-India’ Coastal Defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ was commenced.
Concept:
- This National Level Coastal Defence Exercise was conceptualised in 2018 to validate various measures that have been instituted towards enhancing maritime security since ‘26/11’.
- Coastal Security being a major sub-set of Coastal Defence construct, the concept of ‘Sea Vigil’ is to activate the Coastal Security apparatus across India and assess the overarching Coastal Defence mechanism.
(NewsonAir)
Details:
- The exercise will be undertaken along the entire 7516 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and will involve all the Coastal States and Union territories along with other maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities.
- The exercise is being conducted by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Coast Guard and other ministries entrusted with the task of maritime activities.
Sea Vigil & TROPEX:
- The exercise is a build up towards the major Theatre Level Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX), which the Indian Navy conducts every two years.
- Sea Vigil and TROPEX together will cover the entire spectrum Maritime Security challenges.
Participants:
- Assets of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Customs and other maritime agencies will participate in Ex Sea Vigil.
- In addition to the Ministry of Defence, the conduct of this exercise is also being facilitated by the Ministries of Home Affairs, Ports Shipping and Waterways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Fisheries Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Customs, and other agencies of Centre/ State.
Way Forward:
- Exercise Sea Vigil-22 will provide realistic assessment of our strengths and weaknesses and thus will help in further strengthening Maritime and National Security.
Certain mangrove species is likely to reduce and shift landward
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Certain mangrove species in Chilika and Sundarbans along the east coast and Dwarka and Porbandar along the west coast of India is likely to reduce and shift landward by 2070 due to decline in suitable habitats in response to precipitation and sea level changes, said a study based on a prediction model.
- The study can help identify highly suitable areas for conservation and management and develop conservation strategies for the future.
(NewsonAir)
Why Mangroves conservation matters?
- Mangroves support numerous ecosystem services and help reduce coastal ecological risks, yet they are one of the severely endangered ecosystems declining rapidly due to climate change, sea level fluctuations, and human activities.
- A limited understanding of mangrove spatial distribution and species habitat requirement has reduced the success of conservation initiatives in many parts of the Indian coastline.
- This underlines an urgent need to develop model-based studies to identify conservation target areas at Spatio-temporal scales, specifically in rich mangrove biodiversity regions along the Indian coastline.
Key Findings:
- Scientists used Ensemble species distribution model to study the past and current state of two mangrove species and predict their future.
- They found significant reduction and landward shift of mangroves in the future (2070) due to decline in suitable habitats, specifically along the east and west coast of India in response to precipitation and sea level changes in the future.
- In contrast, the maximum range expansion of the mangroves was mapped in the past, which was validated by fossil pollen data.
- The Indian coastline is vulnerable to the impact of climate and sea level changes, and there is not much attempt for the coastal wetland species prediction and management, with limited research carried out for their future habitat mapping.
Suggestions:
- The study produces a valuable resource for the conservation of coastal wetlands across India by mapping the suitable habitats of the key mangrove species in India.
- The study suggests that establishing effective buffer zones in these conserved areas can narrow down the effect of non-conservative areas on the core conservative zone, and adopting preventive measures can turn some areas into highly suitable regions for facilitating the growth of these mangrove species.
Way Forward:
- The findings would be useful in the implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies in the identified hotspots for conserving the coastal wetlands and reducing the impact of climate change on the coastal vegetation along the Indian coastline.
Chinas ring of telescopes ready to unravel Sun from Tibetan Plateau
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Why in news?
- China has completed the construction of the Daocheng Solar Radio Telescope (DSRT)on the Tibetan Plateau and the trial runs of the facility are expected to begin in June 2023.
- Built at an estimated cost of $14 million, the observatory will be used to study the Sun and explore its effects on space and Earth's environment.
(Freepsport.com)
Salient features:
- The facility is a network of 313 dishes spanning six meters wide that will study the sun in detail.
- With a circumference of 3.14 kilometers, the telescope will image the Sun in radio waves and observe not just large eruptions, but also the changing activity of the stars in our solar system.
- The telescope has been developed as part of the ground-based space environment monitoring network dubbed the Chinese Meridian Project (Phase II).
- The project also includes the Mingantu interplanetary scintillation telescope, which is being assessed in Inner Mongolia with 100 dishes in a three-arm spiral arrangement.
Focus of DSRT:
- The Daocheng telescope, meanwhile, will focus on understanding the mechanisms that cause the Coronal Mass Ejections, which come right after a star throws out a flare or a sudden and bright burst of radiation that can extend far out into space.
- A coronal mass ejection is one of the biggest eruptions from the Sun's surface.
- The large arrays of the telescope will enable it to capture weaker signals from high-energy particles.
Why DSRT placed on the Tibetan plateau?
- The Tibetan plateau was chosen for establishing the telescope since it is the highest plateau on Earth, with an average elevation of over 4,000 meters.
- This elevation provides photometric conditions for observation, with an extremely arid climate and unusually clear local sky.
