What IS Acid Rain Precipitation such as rain sleet or snow that contains a high concentration of acids Caused by burning of fossil fuels the oxides of sulfur and nitrogen to combine with water ID: 907997
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Acid Rain
Unit 2: The Atmosphere
Slide2What IS Acid Rain?
Precipitation such as rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids
Caused by burning of fossil
fuels; the oxides of sulfur andnitrogen to combine with waterin the atmospherePrecipitate as nitric or sulfuricacids
Slide3Slide4Review:
pH
Measure of how acidic or basic a substance is
What is special about the magnitude of this scale? (Log.)Normal precipitation is already slightly acidic due to atmospheric CO2Acid rain has pH less than 5.0Most acidic precipitation occurs around the great lakes (4.2)
Slide5Effects: Soil and Plants
Doesn’t seem like a big change in pH--what’s the big deal?
Hint: what did we learn about the human body?
Acidification causes the elimination of some essential nutrients and the addition of some toxic metalsHarmful to plant roots and stomata (openings on leaves)
Slide6Effects: Aquatic Ecosystems
Aquatic organisms are adapted to live in a particular pH range
Water may look “clear,” but a change in pH can kill many aquatic organisms
Also causes aluminum (from the soil runoff) to accumulate in the gills of fish and interfere with oxygen and salt exchangeAcid shock – when the snow melts and rushes into the waterWhen fish do live, they produce fewer eggs and offspring with birth defects
Slide7Effects: Humans
Toxic metals (from soil) can be released into the environment
Correlation between acid rain and respiratory problems
Fishing and forestry industries sufferwhen their products are damagedCan impact standard of living in communitiesCorrodes buildings that are made out of calcium carbonate
Slide8International Conflict and Cooperation
Problem: pollutants released in one area may fall to the ground hundreds of miles away. So who’s responsible?
Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement in 1991: reduce emissions that flow across the Canada-U.S. boundary
Offset somewhat by road traffic Europe has made similar strides, but China has been a big problem in the past.
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