6.

4 Acid Deposition (Rain)

The pH Scale…What is acidic?
Acidity • Rain is naturally slightly
acidic pH 5.6
• Caused by carbon
dioxide in the air
dissolving into the water
forming carbonic acid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Nf8cuvl62Vc • However, when sulfur
and nitrogen oxides
dissolve in the rain they
form sulfuric and nitric
acid and can have a
very low pH (1-3)
• pH scale is logarithmic,
pH1 is x10 more acidic
that pH 2, and x100
stronger than pH 3
Acid Deposition (Process)
Chemistry of acidified precipitations
Acid deposition can be either wet or dry:
Wet deposition - acidic rain, snow, or other
precipitation
Dry deposition - acidic gas or dry particles, not
mixed with water
Pollutants can be classified as either primary or
secondary:
Primary pollutants - those directly emitted by a
factory or automobile
SO2 - sulfur dioxide
NO and NO2, usually identified as NOx
Primary pollutants by source
 Chemistry Cont.
Secondary pollutants - primary pollutants react with
other substances in the atmosphere and create different
pollutants
H2SO3 - sulfurous acid
H2SO4 - sulfuric acid
HNO3 - nitric acid
 Effects of acid deposition on
environment
Direct effects (Know 1):
Inhibits embryonic development of fish
Chlorophyll loss & yellowing of tree leaves and
buds → diminished growth
Thinning of cuticle (the waxy coating on needles)
Symbiotic root microbes killed (i.e. Rhizobium spp.
and other beneficial fungi)
 Effects of acid deposition on
environment
Toxic effects (Know 1):
Aluminum (Al) leaches out of soil into streams
Al disrupts salt, water, and oxygen regulating
mechanisms in fish
Al can also adhere to fish gills, causing suffocation
Lichens sensitive to SO2 gases and used as
indicator species
 Effects of acid deposition on
environment
Nutrient effects (Know 1):
Soil particles can’t retain Ca, Mg, K, and other
nutrients in acidic environment, so those
nutrients are leached out of soil and not available
to trees
Dissolved Al ions damage root hairs (the
smallest roots, which are the most effective at
absorbing nutrients), so the trees are unable to
absorb as many nutrients
N-fixing bacteria don’t function as well, so less
N is added to soil matrix
 Effects of acid deposition on
environment
Damage to human infrastructure:
acid rain dissolves limestone structures,
especially buildings and statues
 Acid deposition is regional
Acid precipitation falls
back to Earth rather than
entering stratospheric jet
stream
Most areas are downwind
of pollution sources
Canadian forests
damaged by coal-fired
power plants in USA
Scandinavian and
German forests damaged
by British coal plants
Potential problem areas
because of sensitive soils

Potential problem areas because

of air pollution: emissions leading
to acid deposition
Current problem areas
(including lakes and rivers)
Reducing the effects of acid
deposition
find out about the following techniques:
Liming lakes to neutralise acidity.
Precombustion (before burning) techniques.
End of pipe measures (after burning).

Of course we could always reduce our use of fossil

fuels to help solve this problem.
Nuclear power? Electric cars?
 Pollution management strategies for
acid deposition
See Table 15.7 on p.298 of the IB ESS 2010 Course Companion
Replace
Switch to renewable energy sources (reduce fossil fuel use)
Increase energy efficiency (better light bulbs and appliances)
More public transportation (fewer automobiles on the road)
Use low-sulfur fuels
Regulate
Install ‘scrubbers’ on smokestacks of coal-fired power plants
to remove SO2
Catalytic converters installed on automobiles (required by law
in the US, Canada, and Europe)
 Management cont.
Restore
Add limestone to acidified lakes and streams
Using limestone or calcium carbonate (CaCO3) can
neutralize (buffer) the impact of acids.
Freshwater ecosystems much more vulnerable
Expensive and hard to determine how much to add
Remember, this is not a Global problem but a regional
one most serious in

Mountain top forests

Areas with high auto traffic
Areas downwind from industrial centers
CASE STUDY
Research the effect of acid deposition and intergovernmental
agreements or legislation and their effectiveness

In groups you are going to create a poster to show the

impact and pollution management strategies in one of
the cases below.
Canada affected by acid deposition from the USA.
Sweden and Norway affected by acid deposition from
Poland, Germany and UK.
China