A Brief Look at Acid Rain

Acid deposition can come in two forms, dry and wet. Wet deposition is when the acid falls in the form of fog, snow or other precipitation. Dry deposition is found in dry areas where it does not precipitate often. In these areas the chemicals fall as dust or smoke, and stick to whatever they land on. Acid deposition can be result to both natural and manmade sources. Natural sources of acid deposition include electrical storms, volcanoes, and decaying vegetation. Man-made emissions, from power plants that burn fossil fuels are released into the atmosphere as nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). These elements react to oxygen, water, and other gasses in the atmosphere in order to form acidic compounds. These acidic compounds then fall in either a wet or dry form. Acid rain can have a potentially devastating effects on the ecosystem it falls on. When acid rain hits the ground, it faces a natural buffer in the soil often in the form of limestone and calcium carbonate. The water will then travel into either a stream or a lake, where it affects fish. If the fallen rain has a pH at or below 5 undesirable species invade, often in the form of mosses or plankton. The top layer of water becomes too acidic for the inhabitants reproductive cycle to work properly, slowly killing off the

Acid deposition effects water systems because it lowers the pH in the water, creating adverse effects. More Acidic water will also more readily absorb aluminum leached from soil runoff. The combination of aluminum and acidic water is very harmful to many species. When biomagnification occurs many species will die off resulting in less biodiversity in the water system. Dead or dying trees is a common sight with acid deposition in effect. Acid rain leaches aluminum from the soil, doing so sucking the nutrients from the tree and causing death. At high elevation acidic fog, or clouds can strip the nutrients from the trees foliage’ causing them to lose leaves and die. The trees are also less able to absorb sunlight, and with that will not be able to achieve photosynthesis. As well as rural areas, urban areas also get affected. If buildings are made out of marble or limestone, the stone will begin to peel and chip away over time. This is possible because when the main crust chips away underneath is something composed of gypsum. A mineral that forms from the reaction between calcite, water, and sulfuric acid. This mineral can be slowly eaten away and destroyed by acid

Acid precipitation is a wide term that incorporates any type of precipitation with acidic parts, for example, sulfuric or nitric acid that tumble to the ground from the climate in wet or dry structures. This can incorporate into rain, snow, haze, hail or even clean that is acidic. Acid rain as numerous natural impacts, yet none is more prominent than its effect on lakes, streams, wetlands, and other amphibian situations.

Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by certain pollutants in the air and has low pH levels that can harm the environment. It is a type of acid deposition that can appear in many forms such as, wet deposition, which can be rain, sleet snow or fog that is more acidic than normal, and dry deposition, where gases and dust particles become acidic. (Epa.gov) Acid deposition in wet and dry forms, falls on buildings, cars and trees and makes lakes acidic, which then leads to the danger of plant and animal life. Dry acid deposition though, can be inhaled by humans, which can then cause health problems. (Epa.gov)

Acid rain causes a cascade of effects that harm or kill individual fish, reduce fish population numbers, completely eliminate fish species from a water body, and decrease biodiversity. As acid rain flows through soils in a watershed, aluminum is released from soils into the lakes and streams located in that watershed. So, as pH in a lake or stream decreases, aluminum levels increase. Both low pH and increased aluminum levels are directly toxic to fish. In addition, low pH and increased aluminum levels cause chronic stress that may not kill individual fish, but leads to lower body weight and smaller size and makes fish less able to compete for food and habitat. Acid rain can hurt the environment in many ways one that gets affected by acid rain

Acid rain has a large concentration of hydrogen ions mainly coming from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. It could kill living organisms, damage buildings, and monuments.

Well if you already know that acid precipitation breaks down almost everything in it’s way that’s great but if you didn’t all give you a short explanation on what is. Some examples of acid precipitation are rain, sleet, or snow that contains a higher concentration of acid then normal. The things that make acid precipitation is when Air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, also produces these chemical compounds. In conclusion compounds combine with water in the atmosphere to form acids.

This is very important because is all of the ecosystems get destroyed, then none of the animals will have a place to live and be safe. So, therefore, it will be hard for the animals to live and be safe. To conclude, acid rain has many effects on aquatic animals and their

Acid rain is usually acidic, meaning that it will process elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have bad effects on buildings, plants, or even animals. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which will react with water molecules in the atmosphere which produce acids and causes acid rain.

Acid rain is a form of rain that contains nitric and sulfuric acid, with a pH of less than 7.0. Acid rain can weaken the

This is where the ecological effects of acid rain are most clearly seen. Acid rain flows into streams, lakes, and marshes after falling on forests, fields, buildings, and roads. Acid rain also falls directly on aquatic habitats. Most lakes and streams have a pH between 6 and 8, although some lakes are naturally acidic even without the effects of acid rain. Lakes and streams become acidic when water and surrounding soil cannot neutralize the acidic content. In areas where buffering capacity is low, acid rain releases aluminum from soils into lakes and streams; aluminum is highly toxic to many species of aquatic organisms. So, as pH in a lake or stream decreases, aluminum levels increase. Both low pH and increased aluminum levels are directly toxic to fish. In addition, low pH and increased aluminum levels cause chronic stress that may not kill individual fish, but leads to lower body weight and smaller size and makes fish less able to compete for food and habitat. However, the effects of acid rain can be detrimental to our forests as

Acid rain has been a problem dating back to the 1800s, but it was not until the 1960s that attention was finally brought to the forefront of this problem. Acid rain is not just rain, it is also snow, fog, hail, and mist. Rain itself contains acid because it mixes with naturally occurring oxides in the air. According to Fact Sheet, unpolluted rain would have a pH level of between 5 and 6. When the air becomes polluted with nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide the acidity can increase to a pH level of 4 (p. 1). Rain with a pH below 5.6 is called acid rain (Hill & McCreary, p. 208). This low level causes many problems for our environment. Power plants, factories, car exhaust fumes and even natural pollutants all contribute to

Many of the acidic deposits that fall from earth from to the atmosphere can cause the pH of the water to change, making them have a higher acidity than desired. This process was named acid rain from the Scottish chemist, Robert Angus Smith who discovered this in the 19th century (Reed, 2014). Acid rain is commonly known as air pollution today causing many detrimental effects on the environment (Funk & Wagnalls, 2016). Based on the pH of the concentrated rainfall, acid precipitation begins to take place. Acid precipitation begins in the atmosphere since this is where most of the pollutants are being combined to create many of the acids that aid in the acidity of acid rain. Most of the pollutants come from the oxides, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrous oxides (N2O), which later on aid in the acidity of the rain fall (Funk & Wagnalls, 2016). By fully understanding the history and formation of acid rain through inorganic chemistry, scientists can extrapolate the data to help find solutions to decrease the pH concentrations of acid rain.

Acid rain lead to numerous upsetting consequences on the natural environment. Once it combines with the water in surface, it will acidify streams and lakes, eradicating fish and some other marine life. It soaks into waters in ground, initiating the heavy metals to seep out of

Acid rain is any form of precipitation with acidic components such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet and dry forms. Acid rain is a result of when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere and are transported by wind and air currents. (What is Acid Rain? (2017, March 01).