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The first being the widespread damages to health, due to smog, and to nature, due to acid rain, caused by air pollution. [7] The second being the shock of the two oil price crises, in 1973 and 1979, that highlighted the problem of the German economy's strong dependence on unsure foreign sources. [ 7 ]
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.
Turów Power Station, a thermal power station in Bogatynia, Poland Effects of acid rain in the Jizera Mountains in 2006. The Black Triangle (German: Schwarzes Dreieck) is the border region between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, long characterized by extremely high levels of pollution.
It is prepared on an industrial scale as a precursor to sulfuric acid. Sulfur trioxide exists in several forms: gaseous monomer, crystalline trimer, and solid polymer. Sulfur trioxide is a solid at just below room temperature with a relatively narrow liquid range. Gaseous SO 3 is the primary precursor to acid rain. [6]
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]
Acid rain-damaged forest in Europe's Black Triangle Such an increase in sulfate aerosol emissions had a variety of effects. At the time, the most visible one was acid rain , caused by precipitation from clouds carrying high concentrations of sulfate aerosols in the troposphere .
Schematic drawing, causes and effects of air pollution: (1) greenhouse effect, (2) particulate contamination, (3) increased UV radiation, (4) acid rain, (5) increased ground-level ozone concentration, (6) increased levels of nitrogen oxides. An air pollutant is a material in the air that can have many effects on humans and the ecosystem. [95]
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. The forest floor organic soil horizons (layers) that are ...