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Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH).Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid rain has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4–5 on average.
The higher sulfuric acid content of rain also may not release as much Al 3+ from soils as does nitric acid, in part due to the retention (adsorption) of SO 4 2-by soils. This process releases OH − into soil solution and buffers the pH decrease caused by the added H + from both acids.
These are thought to be the principal pathways for formation of nitric acid in the atmosphere. [8]: 224–225 This nitric acid contributes to acid rain or may deposit to soil, where it makes nitrate, which is of use to growing plants. The aqueous phase reaction 2 NO 2 + H 2 O → HNO 2 + HNO 3
Diagram depicting the sources and cycles of acid rain precipitation. Freshwater acidification occurs when acidic inputs enter a body of fresh water through the weathering of rocks, invasion of acidifying gas (e.g. carbon dioxide), or by the reduction of acid anions, like sulfate and nitrate within a lake, pond, or reservoir. [1]
A solution of nitric acid, water and alcohol, nital, is used for etching metals to reveal the microstructure. ISO 14104 is one of the standards detailing this well known procedure. [45] Nitric acid is used either in combination with hydrochloric acid or alone to clean glass cover slips and glass slides for high-end microscopy applications. [46]
It is a reactant in the atmosphere, where it acts as an aerosol, decreasing air quality and clinging to water droplets, eventually resulting in nitric acid (H NO 3) that produces acid rain. Atmospheric ammonia and nitric acid also damage respiratory systems. The very high temperature of lightning naturally produces small amounts of NO x, NH 3 ...
Acid rain: The burning of fossil fuels releases oxides of sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere. These react with water in the atmosphere to form sulfuric and nitric acid in rain. Oxidative weathering: Oxidation of some primary minerals, especially sulfides and those containing Fe 2+, generate acidity.
They contain water, nitric acid and/or sulfuric acid and are a source of polar ozone depletion. [6] The effects on ozone depletion arise because they support chemical reactions that produce active chlorine which catalyzes ozone destruction, and also because they remove gaseous nitric acid , perturbing nitrogen and chlorine cycles in a way which ...