Acid rain

Journal Article · Mon Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979 · Sci. Am.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1079-43· OSTI ID:5730049

Likens, G E ^[1]; Wright, R F; Galloway, J N; Butler, T J

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1. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY

Measurements of the acidity of rain and snow reveal that in parts of the eastern U.S. and of western Europe precipitation has changed from a nearly neutral solution 200 years ago to a dilute solution of sulfuric and nitric acids today. The trend is a result of the emission of sulfur and nitrogen oxides to the atmosphere accompanying the rise in the burning of fossil fuels, and is expected to continue increasing due to the efforts to switch to coal from oil and gas. A more substantial effort is needed to determine the effects of acid precipitation and ways need to be more vigorously explored to reduce the release of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. The chemistry of rain and snow and their acidity is discussed. Studies have shown that such pollutants are transported across political boundaries and the results of some extensive studies in Europe are described. In the U.S., it is noted that the most rapid increase in precipitation acidity over the past 2 decades has been in the Southeast. The environmental effects of acid rain falling on certain rock types are discussed. When acid rains fall on rocks that are highly resistant to dissolution through weathering, the acids are not fully neutralized in the terrestrial watershed and the streams and lakes become acidified. The U.S. EPA predicts that even with conservation and the best controls installed, the deposition of hydrogen ions with precipitation will increase. (MCW)

• OSTI ID: 5730049
• Journal Information: Sci. Am.; (United States), Journal Name: Sci. Am.; (United States) Vol. 241:4; ISSN SCAMA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACID RAIN
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLIMATES
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DATA FORMS
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GRAPHS
INFORMATION
MOBILE POLLUTANT SOURCES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION SOURCES
POWER PLANTS
PRECIPITATION SCAVENGING
RAIN
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SNOW
STATIONARY POLLUTANT SOURCES
SULFUR
TABLES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA