ACID RAIN
What Causes Acid Rain?
This image illustrates the pathway for acid rain in our environment: (1) Emissions of
SO2 and NOx are released into the air, where (2) the pollutants are transformed into acid
particles that may be transported long distances. (3) These acid particles then fall to the
earth as wet and dry deposition (dust, rain, snow, etc.) and (4) may cause harmful
effects on soil, forests, streams, and lakes.
Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are emitted into
the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents. The SO 2 and NOX react with
water, oxygen and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These then mix with
water and other materials before falling to the ground.
While a small portion of the SO2 and NOX that cause acid rain is from natural sources
such as volcanoes, most of it comes from the burning of fossil fuels. The major sources
of SO2 and NOX in the atmosphere are:
Burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. Two thirds of SO2 and one fourth of
NOX in the atmosphere come from electric power generators.
Vehicles and heavy equipment.
Manufacturing, oil refineries and other industries.
Winds can blow SO2 and NOX over long distances and across borders making acid rain
a problem for everyone and not just those who live close to these sources.
Forms of Acid Deposition
Wet Deposition
Wet deposition is what we most commonly think of as acid rain. The sulfuric and nitric
acids formed in the atmosphere fall to the ground mixed with rain, snow, fog, or hail.
Dry Deposition
Acidic particles and gases can also deposit from the atmosphere in the absence of
moisture as dry deposition. The acidic particles and gases may deposit to surfaces
(water bodies, vegetation, buildings) quickly or may react during atmospheric transport
to form larger particles that can be harmful to human health. When the accumulated
acids are washed off a surface by the next rain, this acidic water flows over and through
the ground, and can harm plants and wildlife, such as insects and fish.
The amount of acidity in the atmosphere that deposits to earth through dry deposition
depends on the amount of rainfall an area receives. For example, in desert areas the
ratio of dry to wet deposition is higher than an area that receives several inches of rain
each year.
Measuring Acid Rain
Acidity and
alkalinity are measured using a pH scale for which 7.0 is neutral. The lower a
substance's pH (less than 7), the more acidic it is; the higher a substance's pH (greater
than 7), the more alkaline it is. Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6; it is slightly acidic
because carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolves into it forming weak carbonic acid. Acid rain
usually has a pH between 4.2 and 4.4.
Policymakers, research scientists, ecologists, and modelers rely on the National
Atmospheric Deposition Program’s (NADP) National Trends Network (NTN) for
measurements of wet deposition. The NADP/NTN collects acid rain at more than 250
monitoring sites throughout the US, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands.
Unlike wet deposition, dry deposition is difficult and expensive to measure. Dry
deposition estimates for nitrogen and sulfur pollutants are provided by the Clean Air
Status and Trends Network (CASTNET). Air concentrations are measured by
CASTNET at more than 90 locations.
When acid deposition is washed into lakes and streams, it can cause some to turn
acidic. The Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) Network measures and monitors surface water
chemistry at over 280 sites to provide valuable information on aquatic ecosystem health
and how water bodies respond to changes in acid-causing emissions and acid
deposition.
