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Acid rains effect on plants and wildlife
"Acid rain" is a broad term used to describe several ways that acids fall out of the atmosphere. A more precise term is acid deposition, which has two parts: wet and dry.
Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and snow. ... When that happens, the runoff water adds those acids to the acid rain, making the combination more acidic than the falling rain alone.
Prevailing winds blow the compounds that cause both wet and dry acid deposition across state and national borders, and sometimes over hundreds of miles. ...
Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. ... The result is a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. ... In this case, the NO2 survives to reach higher altitudes, and, (along with SO2), dissolves in the water droplets in clouds to give acids, such as nitric acid (HNO3), and nitrous acid (HNO2). This corrosive mixture can then fall back to Earth as acid rain, which can be as acidic as lemon juice (pH 2. ... In fact, the highest recorded acidity from acid rain was as acidic as vinegar, and occurred at Pitlochry, Scotland, in April of 1974. Acid rain is a major environmental problem, causing devastation of forests and lakes, and corrosion of buildings and statue
The oxides of nitrogen travel as gases through soil and the atmosphere, and in solution in water in soils, rivers and lakes, and rain and snow.
The term acid rain does not convey the true nature of the problem and therefore scientists use the term "acid depositions". This is because the acid which has formed due to pollution may return to the earth as a solid or a gas and not just as rain. Depending upon the climatic conditions it could also come down as rain, fog, or snow, and in the wet form it is known as "acid precipitation". ... These emissions change into sulphates and nitrates under the influence of sunlight and moisture, and get converted into sulphuric acid and nitric acid, which come down as acid rain. ...
The problem of acid rain is not new. ... As far back as in 1872, the Scottish chemist, Angus Robert Smith wrote a book "Air and Rain: The Beginnings of Chemical Climatology", in which he used the term "Acid Rain", and the name has stuck. ...
The havoc done by acid rain is not localised in the place where it is caused. The atmospheric emissions may travel for several days and over long distances depending upon wind and climatic conditions, before coming down as acid rain. The problem caused in an industrialised area may therefore result in acid rain in the surrounding forests or lakes, or even further away.
Approximate Word count = 2285
Approximate Pages = 9.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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