| Acid Rain | .PrinceEcologyApril 3O, 2013 | |

| Abstract
Acid Rain is a mixture of wet deposition and dry deposition. Acid Rain is caused by a surplus of the chemicals sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide caused by air pollution. Air pollution comes from two main sources man made sources and natural sources. Man made sources come from combustion of coal used in power plants and exhaust pipes and natural sources come from volcanoes. They have many effects on the environment such as runoffs that lead chemicals into the streams and humans with respiratory illnesses that can worsen if the chemicals become too acidic.There are many ways to reduce acid rain such as cleaning exhaust pipes and using alternative energy sources. Acid rain measures a pH of about 5.3

Introduction:
Acid rain is a mixture of dry and wet deposition from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. The formation of acid rain result from both natural sources, such as volcanoes , and man-made sources, primarily emissions of sulfur dioxde and resulting from fossil fuel combustion. Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds.
When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, the wind blows these compounds across the enviroment. There are two forms of deposition: wet deposition and dry deposition. Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and snow. If the acid chemicals in the air are blown into areas where the weather is wet, the acids can fall to the ground in the form of rain, snow,fog, or mist. As this acidic water flows over and through the ground, it affects a variety of plants and animals. The strength of the effects depends on several factors, including how acidic the water is; the chemistry and buffering capacity of the soils involved; and the types of fish, trees, and other living things that rely on the water. Dry deposition is in areas where the weather is dry, the acid chemicals may become incorporated into dust or smoke and fall to the ground through, sticking to the ground, buildings, homes, cars, and trees. Dry deposited gases and particles can be washed from these surfaces by rainstorms, leading to increased runoff. This runoff water makes the resulting mixture more acidic. About half of the acidity in the atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition.

Causes and Effects
Acid Rain or acid deposition , is the word used to describe rainfall that has a pH level of

less than 5.6. . Acid rain is formed when oxides of nitrogen and sulfite combine with moisture in

the atmosphere to make nitric and sulfuric acids. These acids can be carried away far from its

origin. The two primary sources of acid rain are sulfur dioxide , and oxides of nitrogen . Sulfur dioxide is a colourless, prudent gas released as a by-product of combusted fossil fuels containing sulfur. A variety of industrial processes, such as the production of iron and steel, utility factories, and crude oil processing produce this gas. In iron and steel production, the smelting of metal sulfate ore, produces pure metal. This causes the release of sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide can also be emitted into the atmosphere by natural disasters such as volcanoes, sea spray, plankton, and rotting vegetation. The other chemical that is also responsible for the make-up of acid rain is nitrogen oxide.
Oxides of nitrogen is a term used to describe any compound of nitrogen with any amount of oxygen atoms. Nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide are all oxides of nitrogen. These gases are by-products of firing processes of extreme high temperatures such as automobiles and in chemical industries natural processes such as forest fires, volcanic action, and lightning make up five percent of nitrogen oxide emission. Transportation makes up 43 percent, and 32 percent belongs to industrial combustion. (Acid Rain,The New World Book Encyclopedia.1993.) Nitrogen oxide is a dangerous gas by itself. This gas attacks the membranes of the respiratory organs and increases the likelihood of respiratory illness. It also contributes to ozone damage, and forms smog. Nitrogen oxide can spread far from the location it was originated by acid rain. Effects
Acid Rain has many effects on the environment. It can effect aquatic life, man made objects and also humans. Acid rain seeps into the earth and poisons plants and trees by dissolving toxic substances in the soil, such as aluminum, which gets absorbed by the roots. This rain also dissolves the beneficial minerals and nutrients in the soil which are then washed away, before the plants and trees have a chance of using them in order to grow.When there is frequent acid rain, it corrodes the waxy protective coating of the leaves. When this protective coating on the leaves is lost, it results in making the plant susceptible to disease. Due to the damaged leaves, the plant loses its ability to produce sufficient amounts of nutrition which is need for it to stay healthy. It results in making the plant vulnerable to the cold weather, insects, and disease, which can in turn lead to its death.

Acid rain also affects aquatic organisms adversely. A high amount of sulfuric acid in the seawater interferes with the ability of fish to take in nutrients, salt, and oxygen. As far as freshwater fish is concerned, in order for them to stay alive, they need to balance the amount of minerals and salts in their tissues. The molecules of acid result in mucus forming in their gills, which prevents them from absorbing oxygen in adequate amounts. Plus, the acidity, which reduces the pH level, causes the imbalance of salt in the tissues of fish.This change in the pH level also impairs some of the fish's ability to maintain their calcium levels. It in turn affects the reproduction processes of the fish. Lack of calcium also causes deformed bones and weakened spines in fish.

Other than causing harm to ecosystems, acid rain also damages man-made structures and materials. For example, acid rain dissolves sandstone, limestone, and marble. It also corrodes ceramic, textiles, paints, and metals. Rubber and leather deteriorate if exposed to acid rain. Stone monuments and carvings lose their shine when exposed to this contaminated rain.

Most of all, acid rain affects human health adversely. It can harm us through atmospheric and soil pollution. Acid rain leads to the formation of toxic compounds by reacting with naturally occurring chemical compounds. Once these toxic compounds are formed, they can seep into the drinking water, and also enter the food chain. This contaminated food can damage the nerves in children, or result in severe brain damage, or even death. Scientists suspect that aluminum, one of the metals affected by acid rain, is associated with Alzheimer's disease. The emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide cause problems like irritation of throat, nose and the eyes, headache, asthma, and dry cough.

How is Acid Rain measured
The pH scale is used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution and is determined by the hydrogen ion content . The pH scale ranges from 0, which is strongly acid, to 14 which is strongly alkaline, the scale point 7 being neutral. The pH scale is logarithmic rather than linear, and so there is a ten fold increase in acidity with each pH unit, such that rainfall with pH 5 is ten times more acidic than pH 6, rainfall with pH 4 is 100 times more acidic than pH 6 and rainfall with pH 3 is
1000 times more acidic than pH 6.
Rainfall acidity is measured in pH units. ‘Normal’ or ‘unpolluted’ rainfall has a pH of 5.6. This is slightly acidic due to the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which forms weak carbonic acid in water. It is not uncommon for acidified rainwater to have a pH of 4, about 30 times as acidic as normal rainwater.

Solutions on Reducing Acid Rain
There are several ways to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide emissions such as

cleaning exhaust pipes, using alternative energy sources and taking action as an individual.
Acid deposition is caused by two pollutants that are released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned: sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. There are several options for reducing SO2 emissions, including using coal containing less sulfur, washing the coal, and using devices called “scrubbers” to chemically remove the SO2 from the gases leaving the smokestack.
Certain approaches will also have the additional benefit of reducing other pollutants such as mercury and carbon dioxide. Finally, power plants can use technologies that do not burn fossil fuels. There are other sources of electricity besides fossil fuels. They include nuclear power,

hydropower, wind energy, geothermal energy, and solar energy. There are also alternative

energies, such as natural gas, batteries, and fuel cells, available to power automobiles. All

sources of energy have environmental costs as well as benefits.

Each individual can also reduce their contribution to the problem and become part of the

solution. Individuals can contribute directly by conserving energy, since energy production

causes the largest portion of the acid deposition problem. Examples of everyday practices

include turning off lights, computers, and other appliances when you're not using them, using

energy-efficient appliances: insulate your home as best you can, carpool, use public

transportation, or better yet, walk or bicycle whenever possible and buy vehicles with low NO

emissions, and properly maintain your vehicle.

Current Research
My Current Research was entitled: Response of soil respiration to Acid rain in forests of different maturity in southern china. The authors were Liang G, Liu X, Chen X, Qiu Q, Zhang D,
Chu G, Liu J, Liu S, Zhou G and it was conducted in South China Botanical Garden, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China ; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China.
The response of soil respiration to acid rain in forests, especially in forests of different maturity, is poorly understood in southern China despite the fact that acid rain has become a serious environmental threat in this region in recent years. They investigated this issue in three subtropical forests of different maturity [i.e. a young pine forest (PF), a transitional mixed conifer and broadleaf forest (MF) and an old-growth broadleaved forest (BF)] in southern China.
Soil respiration was measured over two years under four simulated acid rain (SAR) treatments
Results indicated that SAR did not significantly affect soil respiration in the PF, whereas it significantly reduced soil respiration in the MF and the BF. The depressed effects on both forests occurred mostly in the warm-wet seasons and were correlated with a decrease in soil microbial activity and in fine root biomass caused by soil acidification under SAR. The sensitivity of the response of soil respiration to SAR showed an increasing trend with the progressive maturity of the three forests, which may result from their differences in acid buffering ability in soil and in litter layer. These results indicated that the depressed effect of acid rain on soil respiration in southern China may be more pronounced in the future in light of the projected change in forest maturity. Conclusion

Acid Rain is a mixture of wet deposition and dry deposition. Acid Rain is caused by a surplus of the chemicals sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide caused by air pollution. Air pollution comes from two main sources man made sources and natural sources. Man made sources come from combustion of coal used in power plants and exhaust pipes and natural sources come from volcanoes. They have many effects on the environment such as runoffs that lead chemicals into the streams and humans with respiratory illnesses that can worsen if the chemicals become too acidic.There are many ways to reduce acid rain such as cleaning exhaust pipes and using alternative energy sources. Acid rain measures a pH of about 5.3

References

Effects of acid precipitation on aquatic resources : results of modeling workshops / cooperatively produced by Eastern Energy and Land Use Team and Western Energy and Land Use Team. ([Washington, D.C.?] : Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1982)
The effects of air pollution and acid rain on fish, wildlife, and their habitats : forests / by Louis Borghi. (Kearneysville, W. Va. : Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern Energy and Land Use Team, U.S. Dept. of the Interior ; Washington, D.C. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1982),
Effects of acid precipitation on aquatic resources : results of modeling workshops / cooperatively produced by Eastern Energy and Land Use Team and Western Energy and Land Use Team ([Washington, D.C.?] : Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, [1982])
Acid rain research hearing before the Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agriculture Research, and Environment of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, April 3, 1985. (Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 1986),
Acid rain a survey of data and current analyses : a report /Research Service for the use of the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives. (Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 1984)
Effects of sulfuric acid rain on two model hardwood forests : throughfall, litter leachate, and soil solution / by Jeffrey J. Lee and David E. Weber. (Corvallis : Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ; Springfield, Va. : Available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, [1980]),