Optimize IAS
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Free Initiatives
    • Daily Practice Sheets
    • Daily Prelims Notes
    • Prelims Power Play
    • Friday Factly
    • Sunday Essay Sadhna
    • Mains Master Notes
  • My Mentorship
    • Prelims 2023
      • Laqshya 2023
      • Laqshya 2023 OPTIMA
    • Personalized Guidance 2023
      • ARJUNA Prime 2023
      • ARJUNA 2023
    • DPS Prime
    • ESSAY MASTER CLASS 2023
    • ETHICS MASTER CLASS 2023
    • Mains 2022
      • Mains Optima (Current)
      • Mains Mentorship Program (Static)
    • Know More
  • Downloads
    • PSIR Notes
    • General Studies Notes
    • UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers
  • Login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Free Initiatives
    • Daily Practice Sheets
    • Daily Prelims Notes
    • Prelims Power Play
    • Friday Factly
    • Sunday Essay Sadhna
    • Mains Master Notes
  • My Mentorship
    • Prelims 2023
      • Laqshya 2023
      • Laqshya 2023 OPTIMA
    • Personalized Guidance 2023
      • ARJUNA Prime 2023
      • ARJUNA 2023
    • DPS Prime
    • ESSAY MASTER CLASS 2023
    • ETHICS MASTER CLASS 2023
    • Mains 2022
      • Mains Optima (Current)
      • Mains Mentorship Program (Static)
    • Know More
  • Downloads
    • PSIR Notes
    • General Studies Notes
    • UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers
  • Login

Siachen Glacier

  • January 15, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 

 

Siachen Glacier

Context: In his press conference on January 12, on the eve of Army Day, the Indian Army Chief, General Naravane, reportedly made an intriguing reference to the possibility of “demilitarisation of the glacial region” in Siachen.

Concept:

  • The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about 421226°N 77.109540°E, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
  • At 76 km (47 mi) long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world’s non-polar areas.
  • At 76 km (47 mi) long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world’s non-polar areas.
  • The Siachen Glacier lies immediately south of the great drainage divide that separates the Eurasian Plate from the Indian subcontinent in the extensively glaciated portion of the Karakoram sometimes called the “Third Pole”. The glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east.
  • largest ice sheets, called continental glaciers, spread over vast areas. Today, continental glaciers cover most of Antarctica and the island of Greenland.

How Glaciers Form?

  • Glaciers begin forming in places where more snow piles up each year than melts. Soon after falling, the snow begins to compress, or become denser and tightly packed. It slowly changes from light, fluffy crystals to hard, round ice pellets. New snow falls and buries this granular The hard snow becomes even more compressed. It becomes a dense, grainy ice called firn. The process of snow compacting into glacial firn is called firnification.
  • Glaciers eventually deposit their loads of rock, dirt, and gravel. These materials are called moraine. Piles of moraine dumped at a glacier’s end, or snout, are called terminal moraines.

Threats to Glaciers

  • The processes that remove snow, ice, and moraine from a glacier or ice sheet are called  Ablation includes melting, evaporation, erosion, and calving.
  • Glaciers melt when ice melts more quickly than firn can accumulate. Earth’s average temperature has been increasing dramatically for more than a century. Glaciers are important indicators of global warming and climate change in several ways.
  • Melting ice sheets contribute to rising sea levels. As ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland melt, they raise the level of the ocean. Tons of fresh water are added to the ocean every day. In March 2009, a 160-square-mile piece of the Wilkins Ice Shelf broke off of the Antarctic Peninsula. Large icebergs created by such an event create hazards for shipping.
  • Large additions of fresh water also change the ocean ecosystem. Organisms, such as many types of corals, depend on salt water for survival. Some corals may not be able to adjust to a more freshwater habitat.
  • The loss of glacial ice also reduces the amount of fresh water available for plants and animals that need fresh water to survive. Glaciers near the Equator, such as those on the tropical island of Papua or in South America, are especially at risk.
  • A few glaciers may actually be benefiting from global warming. Although winter temperatures are rising, so is the amount of snowfall in areas like Pakistan’s Upper Indus River Basin. Glaciers are growing quickly there.
Siachen Glacier
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Loading

Recent Posts

  • Prelims Power Play 18 August 2022 August 19, 2022
  • Daily Practice Sheet 19 August 2022 August 19, 2022
  • Discuss ethical issues concerning fund utilization in the government. August 19, 2022
  • FDI is an important monetary source for India’s economic development. In this context critically examine the recent events of many global manufacturing exiting India. August 19, 2022
  • What do you understand by stagflation? August 19, 2022
  • What are freebies? How are they different from welfare schemes? Discuss their implications? August 19, 2022
  • Analyze the present MSP regime? Can higher MSP alone ensure higher production and productivity or crop diversification? August 19, 2022
  • Discuss the strategic and economic importance of Gulf region for India. Assess India’s ties with gulf. August 19, 2022
  • Who are Rohingyas? Examine the problems faced by them. In this context, critically examine India’s refugee policy. August 19, 2022
  • Critically review the policies of Lord Curzon. What was their impact on National Movement? August 19, 2022

About

If IAS is your destination, begin your journey with Optimize IAS.

Hi There, I am Santosh I have the unique distinction of clearing all 6 UPSC CSE Prelims with huge margins.

I mastered the art of clearing UPSC CSE Prelims and in the process devised an unbeatable strategy to ace Prelims which many students struggle to do.

Free Initiatives

  • Daily Practice Sheets
  • Daily Prelims Notes
  • Friday Factly
  • Prelims Power Play
  • Sunday Essay Sadhna

My Proven Strategy

  • Interview Strategy
  • Mains Strategy
  • Motivational
  • Prelims Strategy

Contact us

moc.saiezimitpo@tcatnoc

For More Details

Work with Us

Connect With Me

Santosh Pandey Quora Santosh Sir Telegram Santosh Sir Youtube Optimize IAS Instagram

Course Portal
Search