by Doug

Acid rains effects on plants

dougroe220 — 2014-04-11 17:34:00 UTC

Forests rely on their soil to protect them from acid rain. Acidic waters draw out soil toxins like aluminum. The trees and plants then take in the poisonous substances which eventually kills them. Acid rain also dissolves helpful minerals and nutrients like calcium, magnesium and potassium before the plants have a chance to absorb them. Rarely does acid rain wipe out an entire forest, but instead it stunts the growth through years of soil degradation.

Acid rain effects on buildings and statues

dougroe220 — 2014-04-11 17:36:02 UTC

Acid rain has the ability to erase and obliterate stone and metal, the most durable of materials. Acid rain speeds up the natural weathering process of rain, snow, sun, and wind. It can have lasting effects on sandstone, marble, and limestone while granite is not harmed by it because it contains silicate. Modern buildings and statues are mostly made of acid rain resistant materials, but in the past many of them were not and we can see the effects on them today.

Acid rain effects on fish

dougroe220 — 2014-04-11 17:38:19 UTC

Acid rain causes a cascade of effects that harm or kill individual fish. As acid rain flows through the soil, aluminum is released from the soil into the lakes and streams. So, as pH in a lake or stream decreases, aluminum levels increase. Both low pH and increased aluminum levels are directly toxic to fish. In the cases that acid rain does not kill the fish it makes it much smaller in size and not able to compete for food.

What is acid rain?

dougroe220 — 2014-04-11 17:44:11 UTC

rainfall made sufficiently acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm, typically to forests and lakes. The main cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, the waste gases from which contain sulfur and nitrogen oxides, which combine with atmospheric water to form acids

How is acid rain formed?

dougroe220 — 2014-04-11 17:50:08 UTC

caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These substances can rise very high into the atmosphere, where they mix and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants