22 Facts About Acid rain

1.

Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions .

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2.

Acid rain can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure.

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3.

Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.

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4.

Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters, soils, microbes, insects and aquatic life-forms.

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5.

Acid rain is capable of detrimenting soil composition by stripping it of nutrients such as calcium and magnesium which play a role in plant growth and maintaining healthy soil.

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6.

The main source of sulfur and nitrogen compounds that result in acid rain are anthropogenic, but nitrogen oxides can be produced naturally by lightning strikes and sulphur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions.

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7.

Acid rain was first systematically studied in Europe, in the 1960s, and in the United States and Canada, the following decade.

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8.

In 1972, a group of scientists including Gene Likens discovered the rain that was deposited at White Mountains of New Hampshire was acidic.

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9.

In 1983, the panel of scientists came up with a draft report, which concluded that acid rain is a real problem and solutions should be sought.

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10.

Acid rain-producing gasses are created by biological processes that occur on the land, in wetlands, and in the oceans.

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11.

Principal cause of acid rain is sulfur and nitrogen compounds from human sources, such as electricity generation, animal agriculture, factories, and motor vehicles.

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12.

Industrial acid rain is a substantial problem in China and Russia and areas downwind from them.

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13.

Problem of acid rain has not only increased with population and industrial growth, but has become more widespread.

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14.

The use of tall smokestacks to reduce local pollution has contributed to the spread of acid rain by releasing gases into regional atmospheric circulation; dispersal from these taller stacks causes pollutants to be carried farther, causing widespread ecological damage.

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15.

Acid rain deposition occurs via dry deposition in the absence of precipitation.

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16.

Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters and soils, killing insect and aquatic life-forms as well as causing damage to buildings and having impacts on human health.

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17.

Acid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish species, including the brook trout in some lakes, streams, and creeks in geographically sensitive areas, such as the Adirondack Mountains of the United States.

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18.

The hydronium ions of acid rain mobilize toxins, such as aluminium, and leach away essential nutrients and minerals such as magnesium.

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19.

Likewise, acid rain that falls on soil and on plant leaves causes drying of the waxy leaf cuticle, which ultimately causes rapid water loss from the plant to the outside atmosphere and eventually results in death of the plant.

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20.

Acid rain has a much less harmful effect on oceans on a global scale, but it creates an amplified impact in the shallower waters of coastal waters.

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21.

Acids in the rain react with the calcium compounds in the stones to create gypsum, which then flakes off.

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22.

The effectiveness of the Convention in combatting acid rain has inspired further acts of international commitment to prevent the proliferation of particulate matter.

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