However, if precipitation becomes too acidic, these materials may not be able to neutralize all of the acids. Over time, these neutralizing materials can be washed away by acid rain. Damage to crops, trees, lakes, rivers, and animals can result. Share in Twitter. Share in Facebook. Whatsapp Whatsapp. Acid rain, a true danger to living beings Acid rain is one of the consequences of air pollution.
Contaminants come into contact with gases in the atmosphere and water vapour. They are transformed into a sulphurous acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid. This is known as acidification of the environment, a phenomenon that has serious effects: Oceans can lose biodiversity and productivity. The lowering of the pH of marine waters harms phytoplankton, a food source for different organisms and animals, which can modify the food chain and lead to the extinction of different marine species.
This acidification increases the concentration of metal ions — mainly aluminium ions — which could lead to the death of many fish, amphibians and aquatic plants in acidified lakes. In addition, heavy metals are transported to underground waters, which become unsuitable for consumption.
In forests, the low pH level of the soil and the concentration of metals such as aluminium prevent vegetation from properly absorbing the water and nutrients it needs. This damages roots, slows growth and makes plants weaker and more vulnerable to diseases and pests. When humans burn fossil fuels , sulfur dioxide SO 2 and nitrogen oxides NO x are released into the atmosphere.
Those air pollutants react with water, oxygen, and other substances to form airborne sulfuric and nitric acid. Winds may spread these acidic compounds through the atmosphere and over hundreds of miles. When acid rain reaches Earth, it flows across the surface in runoff water, enters water systems, and sinks into the soil.
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are not primary greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming , one of the main effects of climate change ; in fact, sulfur dioxide has a cooling effect on the atmosphere. But nitrogen oxides contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone , a major pollutant that can be harmful to people. Both gases cause environmental and health concerns because they can spread easily via air pollution and acid rain.
Acid rain has many ecological effects, especially on lakes, streams, wetlands, and other aquatic environments. Acid rain makes such waters more acidic, which results in more aluminum absorption from soil, which is carried into lakes and streams. That combination makes waters toxic to crayfish, clams, fish, and other aquatic animals.
Learn more about the effects of water pollution. Some species can tolerate acidic waters better than others. However, in an interconnected ecosystem, what affects some species eventually affects many more throughout the food chain, including non-aquatic species such as birds.
Acid rain and fog also damage forests, especially those at higher elevations. The acid deposits rob the soil of essential nutrients such as calcium and cause aluminum to be released in the soil, which makes it hard for trees to take up water.
Trees' leaves and needles are also harmed by acids. The effects of acid rain, combined with other environmental stressors, leave trees and plants less healthy, more vulnerable to cold temperatures, insects, and disease. The pollutants may also inhibit trees' ability to reproduce. Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation with acidic components, such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dry forms. This can include rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.
Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide SO 2 and nitrogen oxides NO X are emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents. These then mix with water and other materials before falling to the ground. While a small portion of the SO 2 and NO X that cause acid rain is from natural sources such as volcanoes, most of it comes from the burning of fossil fuels.
Winds can blow SO 2 and NO X over long distances and across borders making acid rain a problem for everyone and not just those who live close to these sources. Wet deposition is what we most commonly think of as acid rain.
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