Essay on Acid Rain – Essay 4 ( Words) Acid rain is any form of precipitation which has acidic components like sulfuric acid or nitric acid. It falls to ground from the atmosphere in either wet or dry form. The precipitation can be in many different forms – rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust. It has a pH less than Jan 01, · Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation like snow that is acidic. Acid rain is downpour containing harmful quantities of nitric and sulfuric acids which released into the atmosphere. When fossil fuels are burned, harmful emotions released into the air. The normal rain has almost pH of , which is faintly acidic Essay on Acid Rain. Acid Rain includes rain, snow, hail, fog, or dew that is high in acid pollutants, especially sulphuric and nitric acid. Acid Rain is mainly caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from various sources. They react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce blogger.comted Reading Time: 4 mins
Acid Rain Essay ⋆ Essays on Controversial Topics ⋆ EssayEmpire
Acid rain refers to both wet and dry deposition of atmospheric materials that contain high concentrations of nitric and sulfuric acid. The wet deposition can include fog, hail, sleet, or snow in addition to rain; the dry deposition is usually dust or smoke. Acid rain is a secondary air pollutant. It is not released directly into the air; rather, it forms as a result of the discharge of acid rain essay dioxide SO2 and nitrogen oxides NOx into the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, acid rain essay, SO2 reacts with other chemicals, primarily water and oxygen, to form sulfuric acid H2SO4 ; the nitrogen oxides react to form nitric acid HNO3.
Once formed, prevailing winds can transport these compounds to distances as great as hundreds of miles, across state and national boundaries. Although natural sources such as erupting volcanoes and decaying plant material can release these gases, most emissions result primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels. In the United States, approximately 67 percent of all the emitted SO2 and 25 percent of the emitted NOx come from electrical power plants that burn fossil fuels. Other sources for these gases are also primarily industrial in nature, including acid rain essay smelting, coal-fired generators, and combustion of fuel in motor vehicles.
All acids, including acid rain, are measured using the pH scale. The pH scale is based on the tendency of a substance to release hydrogen ions in solution; the more readily a substance releases hydrogen ions, the stronger an acid it is. The pH scale runs from a value of 0 for very strong acid very weak base to a high value of 14 for a very weak acid very strong base. Calculating in powers of 10, water with a pH of 4 is 10 times more acidic than water with a pH of 5. Distilled water has a pH of 7, something rarely seen in nature, even with unpolluted rain, acid rain essay. This is because naturally occurring carbon dioxide CO2 in the atmosphere dissolves into the rainwater, forming weak carbonic acid and lowering the pH to around 5.
According to the U. Environmental Protection Agency USEPAas ofthe most acidic rain falling in the United States had a pH of approximately 4. In the United States, acid rain is a problem primarily in the eastern half of the country, in parts of the Northeast and the northern Midwest. The lowest pH values—the result of heavy industrialization in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois—are found in New York and central New England, as well as in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces in Canada. Except for some localized instances of slightly lower pH values, the problem is less pronounced in the southern and western parts of the United States.
A National Surface Water Survey conducted by USEPA in the mids investigated more than 1, lakes larger than 10 acres and many streams thought to be vulnerable to acidification. The survey found that many of these acid rain essay and streams suffer from chronic acidity, with the water constantly maintaining a low pH. Acid rain essay survey found that of the lakes and streams surveyed, acid rain essay, acid rain was the cause of acidity in 75 percent of the acidic lakes and 50 percent of the acidic streams. The survey identified the Adirondacks and Catskill Mountains in New York, acid rain essay, the mid-Appalachian highlands along the East Coast, the northern Midwest, and mountainous areas of the West as areas where many of the surface waters are particularly sensitive to acidification.
Ongoing monitoring by the U. Geological Survey, as well as a study conducted by the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, has found that conditions have not significantly improved. In the Northeast, where the soils have little ability to neutralize acids known as buffering capacitysome lakes now have a pH of 5 or less, with a lowest reported pH of 4. The scope of the problem is even greater if lakes smaller than 10 acres acid rain essay considered. Eastern Canada has soil quite similar to that in the Adirondack Mountains, and its lakes are extremely vulnerable to chronic acidification. An estimated 14, lakes in that region acid rain essay acidic, according to the Canadian government. Also susceptible to the effects of acid deposition are streams flowing over soils with little buffering capacity.
The survey found that streams in the Mid-Atlantic coastal plain are acidic, acid rain essay. The highest concentration of acidic streams was found in the New Jersey Pinelands, where over 90 percent of the streams are acidic. In the Mid-Atlantic Highlands, more than 1, of the streams are acidic. In addition to chronic acidification, there can acid rain essay brief periods, known as episodic acidification, acid rain essay, when pH drops because of heavy downpours of rain or runoff from snowmelt. Many lakes and streams in the United States and Canada are susceptible to this episodic effect. USEPA estimates that approximately 70 percent of lakes in the Adirondacks are at risk. The environmental effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in surface water environments such as streams, lakes, and marshes.
Acid rain falls directly on these aquatic habitats, and acidic runoff flows into them after falling on rural and urban areas. The impact can be disastrous. In the United States, many aquatic species are showing the deadly effects of prolonged exposure to acidic conditions, sometimes to such an extent that the overall populations of whole species are reduced and species that are more sensitive to low pH levels become extinct. All of these effects contribute to a reduction in the biodiversity of the affected systems, acid rain essay. Some acid lakes no longer have fish in them. Aquatic systems are not the only ones affected. Forest systems in Europe, North America, and Asia also show damage from acid rain, negatively affecting seedling production, tree density, acid rain essay, and overall viability of the forests.
The problem is particularly serious in high-altitude forests, where the trees are exposed to the acidic precipitation for longer periods. The most direct damage is to seedlings and to the tissues of adult trees. However, the higher acidity can leach nutrients from the soil and mobilize metals, such as aluminum, that are toxic to the plants. Furthermore, weakened trees can become vulnerable to insects and diseases. In addition to damage done to acid rain essay natural environment, acid rain also acid rain essay damage to non-natural objects. In many cities, acid rain essay, acid precipitation is destroying numerous historic and contemporary buildings and works of art.
Structures of limestone and marble— including the Parthenon, the Taj Mahal, the Washington Monument, and numerous medieval cathedrals acid rain essay Europe—are most vulnerable because of their high reactivity with acids. Additionally, acid precipitation can corrode the steel in reinforced concrete, damaging buildings, bridges, and roads. Because acid precipitation is a result of air pollution, the most effective strategy is to reduce emissions of the pollutants to the atmosphere. New technology has allowed factories to decrease amounts of SO2 in smokestack emissions. However, emissions of NOx have increased over the same time period, suggesting the need for more stringent air pollution regulation.
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Essay on Acid Rain for Students and Children Essay on Acid Rain Acid Rain includes rain, snow, hail, fog, or dew that is high in acid pollutants, especially sulphuric and nitric acid. Acid Rain is mainly caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from various sources. They react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. The problem of Acid Essay on Acid Rain – Essay 4 ( Words) Acid rain is any form of precipitation which has acidic components like sulfuric acid or nitric acid. It falls to ground from the atmosphere in either wet or dry form. The precipitation can be in many different forms – rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust. It has a pH less than Aug 08, · Acid Rain Essay 5 ( words) Acid Rain includes rain, snow, hail, fog, or dew that is high in acid pollutants, especially sulphuric and nitric acid. Acid Rain is caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which reacts with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids
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