Acid Rain

Acidity of an ecosystem, measured in pH, is a crucial factor to the survival of a species in an ecosystem. Altering it can have result in dramatically negative effects, in spite of the fact that pH of an ecosystem has been dramatically changed over a relatively short period of time due to various human activities. For example, acid rain is a major environmental problem that is caused by human-made pollution. When fossil fuels are burnt to get energy, pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides get mixed into the rainwater and eventually are evaporated into the atmosphere. These gases enter the atmosphere, and mix with water in the water cycle to form an acidic mixture of water and gases. This water falls in the form of acid rain, which

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)

Through the advancement of technology, the issue of the air surrounding the earth might have been one of the most often matters to be brought up and discussed among scientists and engineers. Acid rain is one of the more serious environmental problems and it is closely related to the air pollution. Nowadays, it has affected large part of US, Europe and Canada. People start to be concerned about acid rain since it is getting worse in the passed years. The effect of the acid rain most often leads to another bad effect. For example, the acid rain will cause the lake and streams to be acidic. Thus, it will also affect the ecosystem inside the water.

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.

Another way acid rain can be prevented is by using fewer cars! There are so many different ways of transportation. You can use bikes if you aren’t going a long distance, you can use a train, if you live near a friends house you can car pool, and this all decreases reliance on fossil fuels. Cars also emit carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming which is affecting the environment. As the temperature rises, more rain falls, which increases the risk of heavier flooding. Ice is melting, and that is dangerous for future sea level rise. Also many countries already have very low water, and when the climate changes it changes precipitation patterns, and increasing droughts, which is dangerous because people are running out of water. But a positive impact is that electric cars are better for the environment because they only use battery power, meaning there is no burning of gasoline or other fossil

Acid rain affects thousands of people worldwide and is produced by factories and car fumes. It is the product of humanity and should not happen if we were careful of our carbon emissions. This phenomenon has contributed to many ruined water sources around the world. If acid rain was never a problem then places like Canada would have more forests and trees in Ontario. Also not as much coral would be dying in the ocean. Acid rain is a serious problem that needs to be addressed with caution and must be effectively dealt with before it is too

To conclude, acid rain includes many elements that make it well known worldwide today and also puts my mind into a new perspective of the effects that are happening in front of my own eyes that I am not noticing. Not to mention, that if I were to pursue the career of becoming an environmental engineer, I would be able to help protect the environment from acidity and become more aware of the solutions to this problem when the environment cannot neutralize the substances on its

Acid rain is a type of rain mixed with acid that affects crops, buildings, and statues. Acid rain is made when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide combine with each other in the air. There are many different causes of acid rain; including the burning of fossil fuels, emittance from vehicles, volcanic eruptions, and decaying vegetation. Acid rain can be measured by using the pH scale. The pH scale is used to measure different levels of acidity and alkaline. The pH scale has a numerical scale of zero to fourteen, with seven being neutral. The pH of rain in Illinois is typically 4.7-4.8, making it acidic. In regards to the US, acid rain is most commonly found in the northeastern region. Acid rain can decay and erode buildings and statues, causing

Source: (2) “Acid Rain: The Southern Company (A)” Harvard Busines Review April 28, 1993. Case Code: 9-792-060

The acid rain may fall hundreds of miles from the pollution source. Once it hits the ground chemical alterations still go on which can reduce the acidity of the water that will reach lakes and streams. Alkaline soils can neutralize acid directly. In acidic soils two other processes can stop the effects of the acidic pH. The acid can be immobilized as the soil vegetation retains sulfate and nitrate ions (from the nitric and sulfuric acids). It can also be buffered through a process that is known as cation exchange. In cation exchange of calcium, magnesium, and other metals found in many soils takes the place of the acid's hydrogen ions. The source of the metal ions is rock weathering: the dissolving of minerals by precipitation and groundwater containing dissolved carbon dioxide, which gives the positive metal ions with anions of bicarbonate (HCO3 -). Then, when sulfuric acid is added the sulfate (SO4 2-) of the acid can displace calcium and magnesium ions, hydrogen ions responsible for acidity are left behind. The effectiveness of this natural buffer is dependent on the geology of the land.

In order to prevent acid rain from further impacting the environment, flue gas desulfurization was employed by numerous countries in order to reduce sulfur emissions. Flue gas desulfurization is the process of

Harming of forests, lakes, and their ecosystems by acid rain (including Alaska, Canada, Norway, Eastern U.S., Germany, etc.)