NTA UGC NET/JRF Exam, Dec., 2023 Geography

The Cumulative Causation Theory was developed by Gunnar Myrdal in 1957. Myrdal argued that regional disparities are the inevitable and natural product of economic development and market forces. He believed that economic development is mainly concentrated in places where the necessary conditions for development, such as raw materials and power sources, are easily available.
Myrdal posited that economic development arises in the form of a circular cumulative process which leads to an advanced industrial expanded area at one end, while the underdeveloped area at the other end sees poverty, stagnation, and decline. In support of his theory, he mentioned the following four factors associated with the development process of an economy: (i) Availability of natural resources. (ii) Historical traditions of production activities. (iii) National cohesion (or integration). (iv) Social and political leadership. In his Cumulative Causation Theory, Myrdal mentioned that the development occurring in the progressive region affects development in the backward regions through the following two effects:
(i) Spread Effects (positive impact on surrounding areas).
(ii) Backwash Effects (negative impact/drainage of resources from surrounding areas).

Specific humidity is the mass of water vapor per unit mass of air. It is measured in units of grams per kilogram (g/kg). The water vapor present in the atmosphere is called atmospheric humidity. Humidity is measured in grams per cubic meter (g/m3). Humidity is mainly divided into three types: (i) Absolute Humidity, (ii) Specific Humidity, and (iii) Relative Humidity. Absolute Humidity: The amount of water vapor present in a per unit volume of air is called absolute humidity. It is expressed in grams per cubic meter.
Relative Humidity: The ratio of the water vapor present at any given temperature to the maximum water vapor holding capacity of the same air at the same temperature is called relative humidity. It is expressed as a percentage.

A Global City is based on the city's role as a center of financial power and high-technology infrastructure. The term Conurbation was first used by Patrick Geddes in 1915. These are vast, well-developed urban areas that essentially merge from separate towns or cities into a large, continuously built-up area.
Examples include Greater London, Manchester, Chicago, and Tokyo. The term Megalopolis is derived from the Greek word 'Megalopolis,' meaning 'great city.' It was first used by Jean Gottmann in 1957. This is a large metropolitan region that is a cluster of conurbations. The best example of a Megalopolis is in the United States, visible as a continuous urban landscape from Boston in the north to Washington D.C. in the south.

Regarding the constitutional provisions for environmental protection in India, Article 48A states that the state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the countrу.
The responsibility of citizens for environmental protection is stated in Article 51A(g) of the new chapter titled 'Fundamental Duties,' which says that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.
It is the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment. Therefore, both statement I and statement II are true.

Feminist geographers trace the interconnections between all aspects of daily life. Feminist geographers place more emphasis on the qualitative method of analysis. Reviewing Feminist Geography, Pratt (1994) explained the development of its focus in the following three phases: (i) Women in Geography (or Women's Geography)
(ii) Socialist Feminist Geography
(iii) Post-Colonial Feminist Geography
Feminist geography is a geographical study based on the socio-political thought related to gender difference and its fundamental assumptions. Sociological thinking regarding gender difference began in Western countries with the women's liberation movement in the 1970s. It was inspired by the then-revolutionary Marxist thought and was an integral part of it, and later, poststructuralist thinkers and writers also joined this stream of thought.

The statement "Israel, Brazil, and Pakistan are located in the Rimland region of Spykman's theory" is incorrect, because Spykman's Rimland includes almost the entire continental Europe west of the Baltic and Black Sea land bridges, as well as the mountainous, southwestern and southeastern regions of Asia, and China.
This theory was proposed in 1944. The Diego Garcia Island is used by the United States as a naval base, not by Russia. China is investing in and developing Pakistan's Gwadar Port, while India is doing the same for Iran's Chabahar Port. According to Mackinder's Heartland Model, India lies in the marginal crescent. Mackinder first described the "pivot area" in 1904 in his article titled 'The Geographical Pivot of History'.
He later revised the concept in 1919 in his book titled Democratic Ideals and Reality', renaming it as the Heartland. In 1943, he revised it again and wrote another book titled 'The Round World and the Winning of the Peace'. Mackinder proposed the famous idea- "Who rules Eastern Europe commands the Heartland, Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island, Who rules the World-Island commands the World."

The effect of the Sun on tides is 46% of the effect of the Moon. Oceanic tides on Earth are caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun. Earth has a diameter of 12,800 km (8,000 miles), so its surface is 6,400 km closer to the Moon than its center. When the Sun, Moon, and Earth align in a straight line, their combined gravitational pull causes spring tides seen during full moon and new moon.
Conversely, when the Sun, Earth, and Moon form a right angle, their gravitational forces counteract each other, resulting in neap tides. This occurs on the eighth day (Ashtami) of both the waxing (Shukla Paksha) and waning (Krishna Paksha) lunar phases. Diatomaceous and Radiolarian ooze are subdivisions of siliceous ooze, due to the high silica content. Because they are low in calcium, they do not dissolve easily, hence are found at great depths in both cold and warm oceans.
Radiolarian ooze is formed from the remains of Radiolaria, Diatoms, and Foraminifera. It contains more silica and less calcium carbonate (less than 4%). As depth increases, the calcium content decreases. Diatom ooze has a high silica content, while calcium content ranges from 3% to 30%. Salinity in oceans is primarily determined by latitudes. Generally, as one moves from the Equator to the poles, salinity decreases, but at the Equator, it is found to be relatively low.

In mountainous regions, natural vegetation changes with increasing altitude and declining temperature. In the Himalayas, natural vegetation ranges from tropical forests to tundra-type vegetation. At the base of the Himalayas, deciduous forests are found. Between 1000 to 2000 meters, moist temperate forests are found.
In the higher hills of Northeast India, evergreen forests with broad-leaved trees like oak and chestnut are found (also in West Bengal and Uttarakhand). Pine trees grow on Himalayan slopes between 900 to 1800 meters.
In the western Himalayas, deodar forests are found between 1500 to 2500 meters. Above this height, alpine forests and meadows are found. Between 3000 to 4000 meters, trees like silver fir, juniper, pine, birch, and rhododendron are found. Pine forests of the Himalayas are an important commercial source of resin. Thus, it is clear that Statements (A), (B), and (C) are correct.

During summer, temperature gradually increases. By April, the average maximum temperature in the peninsular region south of the Satpura range reaches 40°C. In April, the 30°C isotherm covers the broad region between 10°N to 26°N latitude (excluding western coast and northeast).
But by May, only parts of North and West Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, and a small region of Coromandel Coast fall within this range. In winter, temperature generally increases from north to south, and isotherms run nearly parallel. In January, the 20°C isotherm runs from the Rann of Kutch in the west to the Ganges delta in the east, around 22°N latitude.
In South India, isotherms bend southwards, running parallel to the coast. The peninsular region is less affected by winter. The Mahanadi basin receives 100-200 cm of rainfall annually. The Western Coast, Western Ghats, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and the Darjeeling Hills receive more than 200 cm.
Other parts of Northeast India, West Bengal, Odisha, Eastern Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Tarai region, and Uttarakhand hills receive 100–200 cm. October and November are the retreating monsoon season. The monsoon withdraws from Western Rajasthan in the first week of September, and by the end of the month, it has withdrawn from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western Ganga plains, and the central highlands.
In early October, the monsoon lies over the northern Bay of Bengal, and by early November, it shifts towards Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. By mid-December, the low-pressure system moves completely away from the peninsula. Hence, it is clear that Statements (A) and (C) are correct, while Statements (B) and (D) are incorrect.