Chapter 15 : Breathing Room : Addressing Manmade Air pollution
People first noticed the damage caused by acid rain more than 100 years ago. Folks in the mid-19th century observed that rainfall in heavily polluted cities (such as London during the industrial Revolution ) was dissolving marble and limestone statues. Not until the 1960s did scientists begin to carefully study the sequence chemical reaction that result in acid rain.
By far , the worst ecosystem damage acid rain causes occurs in aquatic and wetland ecosystems. Acid rain creates acidic conditions in lakes,ponds , rivers, and the organisms in these ecosystems just are not adapted to survive in that kind of environment. Acidification, or increasing the acidity (lowering the pH) of an aquatic ecosystem, can kill aquatic organisms such as fish and amphibians as well as interfere with their life cycles.
Normal atmospheric water has a pH of approximately 5.6 because of the natural formation of carbonic acid from atmospheric carbon dioxide gas. Pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur compounds in the atmosphere create atmospheric water particles that are more acidic than normal with pH values less than 5.
Changing the pH of aquatic ecosystems may also have the side effect of allowing other contaminants (such as metals or toxins) to dissolve into the water and move more freely around the environment.
Chapter 15 : Breathing Room : Addressing Manmade Air pollution
People first noticed the damage caused by acid rain more than 100 years ago. Folks in the mid-19th century observed that rainfall in heavily polluted cities (such as London during the industrial Revolution ) was dissolving marble and limestone statues. Not until the 1960s did scientists begin to carefully study the sequence chemical reaction that result in acid rain.
By far , the worst ecosystem damage acid rain causes occurs in aquatic and wetland ecosystems. Acid rain creates acidic conditions in lakes,ponds , rivers, and the organisms in these ecosystems just are not adapted to survive in that kind of environment. Acidification, or increasing the acidity (lowering the pH) of an aquatic ecosystem, can kill aquatic organisms such as fish and amphibians as well as interfere with their life cycles.
Normal atmospheric water has a pH of approximately 5.6 because of the natural formation of carbonic acid from atmospheric carbon dioxide gas. Pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur compounds in the atmosphere create atmospheric water particles that are more acidic than normal with pH values less than 5.
Changing the pH of aquatic ecosystems may also have the side effect of allowing other contaminants (such as metals or toxins) to dissolve into the water and move more freely around the environment.
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