What is Soil pH and Why is it important in farming? - Chemosmart

              In this article, let's see about the Acid Rain that affect on our environment in large amount. So, we will discuss about the very necessary points like- What is Acid Rain? Acid Rain: causes,  Effects of Acid Rain etc.

             

What is Acid Rain?

                     In simple term,  Acid rain is rainfall that has been acidified. In acid rain, Rain is acidified by oxides of sulfur and nitrogen. Acid rain mainly has a pH of less than 5.6. Acid rain is produced when pollutants that means oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, contained in power plant smoke, factory smoke, and vehicles waste gas, react with the moisture in the atmosphere. Dry deposition, such as soot and ash, sleet, hail, snow, smog and low level ozone are forms that acid rain can take, despite its name.

             Other definition of Acid rain is - Any form of precipitation with acidic  components, majorly sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dry forms. This can Contains rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust which is acidic.

What causes Acid Rain?

          Human activities are the major cause of acid rain. Over the past some decades, humans have changed the composition of gases in the atmosphere to be free different chemicals. Power plants release the mainly of sulfur dioxide and much of the nitrogen oxides when they burn fossil fuels like coal, to manufacturing electricity. In addition, the waste gases from cars, trucks, and buses releases nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide into the air.

              Acid rainis created by a chemical reaction that starts when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These substances can enhaced very maximun into the atmosphere, where they add and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to produce more acidic pollutants, described as acid rain. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides dissolve very simply in water and can be transferred very far in the presence of the wind. As a result, the two compounds can travel long distances where they become part of the rain, sleet, snow, and fog that we realized on certain days.

                  Acid rain can be created by many different things. Industrial emissions from factories and power plants that burn fuels such as natural gas, coal or oil, emit smoke that gives off oxides of sulfur and nitrogen is one cause. 

              One other cause is home fires giving off smoke that contains sulfur dioxide. Some fairly minor causes are natural causes that are volcanoes, swamps and rotting plants giving off sulfur dioxide. Natural causes only account for 10% of the pollution producing acid rain.

What are the contributions of acid rain?

                 Acid rain is the result of acidic gases like Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide NO2 are producing Carbanions acid, sulfurous or sulfuric acid, hydrochloric, nitrous or nitric acid etc linking, and producing acid water when the drop of rains comes from cloud to ground. This can Contains rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic. Normal neutral water is 7.0 with pH 6.5 to 8 pH and rain water shows pH 4 to 5.

What is the effects and problems of Acid Rain?

 On Aquatic Environment-

         The aquatic plants and animals required a specific pH level of about 4.8 to survive. If the pH level falls below that the situations become hostile for the survival of aquatic life. Acid rain capacity of altering pH and aluminium concentrations greatly affects pH concentration levels in surface water, thereby affecting fish as well as other aquatic life-forms. At pH levels below 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch. Lower pHs can also kill adult fish.

Effect on Forests & Vegetation Cover and Plantations:

                   It Creates trees vulnerable to disease, extreme weather, and insects by damaging their leaves, damaging the bark and arresting their growth.

  Effects of acid rain on soil: 

                  Soil microbes and biological activity as well as soil chemical compositions such as soil pH are damaged  due to the impacts of acid rain. The soil requires to control an optimum pH level for the continuity of biological activity. When acid rains seep into the soil, that means higher soil pH, which damages or reverses soil biological and chemical activities. Hence, sensitive soil microorganisms that cannot adapt to changes in pH are killed. High soil acidity also denatures enzymes for the soil microbes. On the same breadth, hydrogen ions of acid rain remove away important minerals and nutrients such as calcium and magnesium.

Effect on Architecture and Buildings: 

               Acid rain on buildings, those builded with limestone, react with the minerals and corrode them away. This leaves the building weak and susceptible to decay. Modern buildings, cars, airplanes, steel bridges and pipes are all impacts by acid rain. Irreplaceable destroy can be caused to the old heritage buildings.

Effect on Public Health: 

             Acid rain Can cause accidents, occuring to injuries and deaths. Human health is indirectly affected by acid rain because acid rain water is very dilute to cause serious health problems. However, the dry depositions also called as gaseous particulates in the air which in this case are nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide can cause serious health problems when inhaled. Intensified levels of acid depositions in dry form in the air may cause lung and heart problems such as bronchitis and asthma.

                 After looking the Hubbard Brook Forest and other areas, scientistss have search many important affects of acid deposition on both natural and man- prepare environments. Aquatic settings are the most clearly affected by acid deposition though because acidic precipitation falls directly into them. Both dry and wet deposition also runs off of forests, fields, and roads and flows into lakes, rivers, and streams etc.

                As this acidic liquid moves into bigger bodies of water, it is diluted, but over time, acids can accrue and decrease the whole pH of the body of water. Acid deposition also causes clay soils to release aluminum and magnesium further decreasing the pH in few areas. If the pH of a lake drops below 4.8, its plants and animals risk death. It is proposed that about 50,000 lakes in the United States and Canada have a pH below normal about 5.3 for water. Many hundred of these have a pH too minimum to support any aquatic life. Aside from aquatic bodies, acid deposition can significantly affect forests.

                  As acid rain falls on trees, it can produced them loses their leaves, destroy their bark, and stunt their growth. By damaging these parts of the tree, it makes them vulnerable to disease, extreme weather, and insects. Acid falling on a forest’s soil is also harmful because it distrubs soil nutrients, kills micro-organisms in the soil, and can sometimes cause a calcium deficiency. Trees at maximun altitudes are also susceptible to problems induced by acidic cloud cover as the moisture in the clouds blankets them.

               Destroy to forests by acid rain is seen overall the world, but the most advanced cases are in Eastern Europe. It’s estimated that in Germany and Poland, half of the forests are destroyed, while 30% in Switzerland have been imacted.

                 Finally, acid deposition also has an affect on architecture and art because of its capacity to corrode certain materials. As acid lands on constructions majorly those builded with limestone it reacts with minerals in the stones sometimes causing them to disintegrate and wash away. Acid deposition can also cause concrete to deteriorate, and it may corrode modern buildings, cars, railroad tracks, airplanes, steel bridges, and pipes above and below ground etc.

         There are several problems and effects caused due to acid rain. Acid rain can cause buildings, statues and bridges to deteriorate faster than actual. Another problem is it toxic thousands of lakes, rivers, and streams worldwide. It distrubs lake ecosystems and inhibit wildlife in affected lakes, rivers and streams. Acid rain also destroyed soil and the tree roots in it. When soil is acidified, tree roots are damaged, leaving them not capable to draw in enough nutrients to support the tree.

   

             When acid rain falls on trees, it produces their leaves turn brownish-yellow and the tree can no longer carry out photosynthesis better. Another problem is it will hotter people when they breathe in smog, acid rain in one of its several forms. Acid rain can also harm people not directly. This happens when people eat fish caught in affected lakes or rivers. Also, if the water source is acidic enough, it will react with copper or lead pipes to harm humans. It also washes aluminum into the water supply. Birds can be harmed if they live in impacted waters or feed on fish living in affected waters.

What Acid Rain Has Done?

         There are several bad things which have happened because of acid rain and here are few. In Sweden, drinking water once included enough water to produce people's hair turn green. In the Czech Republic, different trees lost all their leaves as a result of acid rain. The Taj Mahal in India, one of the ten wonders of the world, is being constantly threatened by acid rain. Some famous statues, such as the Lincoln Memorial and Michaelangelo's statue of Marcus Aurelius, have begins deteriorating because of acid rain. In London in 1952, very thick acid smog killed 4,000 people

Which area of the world is affected by Acid rain

              There are many different places around the world impacted by acid rain and here are the major ones. The Northeastern part of the United States where acid rain is caused by large numbers of factories and power plants is one impacted area. Also in that similar area, the Southeastern section of Canada is impacted and the major cause is factories in the Toronto-Hamilton place. Central Europe and Scandanavia Sweden, Norway and Finland are also impacted, here being the British and other European factories doing the destroyed. One more major place that is impacted is parts of Asia, particularly India and China, where acid rain is caused by large numbers of factories.

What is the possible solutions for Acid rain

          There are several possible solutions to the acid rain situations. One is to use fuels that burn more clearly. Another solution is to burn coal more efficiently. Power plant and factory chimneys can be fitted with scrubbers that free 90-95% sulfur free smoke and also created sludge from that gypsum, a construction substance, can be prepared. This problem can also be solved by enforcing tight emission standards on vehicles that burn gas and diesel. One other solution is fitting devices such as a catalytic converter into car waste gas pipes to lower the amount of sulfur dioxide in car waste gas.

Cleaning up Exhaust Pipes and Smokestacks: 

           Washing coal, use of coal comprised of low sulfur.

  

        Use of apparatus called as scrubbers can provide technical solution to SO2 emissions. Scrubbing also known as flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) usually work to chemically removed SO2 from the gases leaving smokestacks. It can remove up to 95% of SO2 gases.

          Power generation facilities can also shift to using fuels that emit much less SO2 such as natural gas instead of burning coal.

          NOx emissions from automobile fossil fuel combustions are mitigated upon by use of catalytic converters. Catalytic converters are fixed on the exhaust pipe system to lower NOx emission.

     Improvement of gasoline that combusts cleaner is also a strategy for reducing emission of NOx gases.

Restoring Damaged Environments:

                Adding lime into acidic surface waters balances the acidity, may repair the damage caused by acid rain to lakes, rivers and brooks etc.

 Alternative Energy Sources:

          Containing wind energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, hydro-power, and nuclear power.

 Other:

          Energy conservation and Solutions of lowering emissions such as:

1) Turning off lights or electrical appliances when not using them.

2 ) Use public transport; use energy efficient electrical appliances.

 3) Use of hybrid vehicles or those with low NOx emissions.

What We Can Do?

                    We can do things to prevent or solve the problems acid rain situations. We can cut back on car use by walking, cycling, using public transit or carpooling. We can also help by turning off electrical devices not in use such as lights and computers.

The History of the Acid Rain Problem-

  

                  Here, is a little bit on the history of the acid rain situations. The problem of acid rain probably initiated during the 1730's, at the height of the industrial revolution. It was searched in the 1950's and started being noticed in the 1960's. Since the 1960's, the problem has gotten worse in rural areas because the big chimneys on factories allow the wind to transport pollutants far away from their sources. 

                     In 1984 it was noticed that almost half of the trees in the famous black forest in Germany had been destroyed by acid rain. In 1988, as part of the United Nations-sponsored Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution Agreement, the U.S.A. and 24 other nations agreed to fews rules limiting nitrogen oxide emissions to 1987 levels.1990 year changes to the Clean Air Act set rules to cut down the release of sulfur dioxide from power plants down to 10 million tonnes by January 1, 2000.