General Studies I · Subtopic
Changing water bodies and ice caps
Official syllabus
Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
UPSC CSE 2026 notification
What this covers
Examine changing rivers, lakes, wetlands, oceans and the cryosphere through water balance, energy balance and land-use change.
Key ideas
- Water balance
- Glacier mass balance
- Sea ice and land ice
- Sea-level change
- Watershed and coastal effects