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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. [ 1 ][ 2 ] The more acidic the acid ...
Rain is generally mildly acidic, with a pH between 5.2 and 5.8 if not having any acid stronger than carbon dioxide. [77] If high amounts of nitrogen and sulfur oxides are present in the air, they too will dissolve into the cloud and raindrops, producing acid rain.
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. [1] Freshwater acidification is primarily caused by sulfur oxides (SO x) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) entering ...
e. In chemistry, pH (/ piːˈeɪtʃ / pee-AYCH), also referred to as acidity or basicity, historically denotes " potential of hydrogen " (or "power of hydrogen"). [ 1 ] It is a logarithmic scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of aqueous solutions. Acidic solutions (solutions with higher concentrations of hydrogen (H+) ions) are ...
The lower the pH, the higher the concentration of bicarbonate will be. This shows how a lower pH can lead to higher alkalinity if the amount of bicarbonate produced is greater than the amount of H + remaining after the reaction. This is the case since the amount of acid in the rainwater is low.
These oxides react in the rain water to produce stronger acids and can lower the pH to 4.5 or even 3.0. Sulfur dioxide, SO 2, comes from volcanic eruptions or from fossil fuels, and can become sulfuric acid within rainwater, which can cause solution weathering to the rocks on which it falls. [28]
This break down is the main driver of acid mine drainage. Sub-surface mining often progresses below the water table, so water must be constantly pumped out of the mine in order to prevent flooding. When a mine is abandoned, the pumping ceases, and water floods the mine. This introduction of water is the initial step in most acid rock drainage ...
Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. [ 1 ] pH is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the activity of hydronium ions (H+ or, more precisely, H3O+aq) in a solution.