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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.
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]
While draining, water and organic acid from the soil slowly (over thousands or millions of years) enlarges these cracks, dissolving the calcium carbonate and carrying it away in solution. Most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. Cooling groundwater or mixing of different groundwaters will also create conditions suitable for cave formation.
The same equation relating the concentrations of acid and base applies. The concept of neutralization is not limited to reactions in solution. For example, the reaction of limestone with acid such as sulfuric acid is also a neutralization reaction. [Ca,Mg]CO 3 (s) + H 2 SO 4 (aq) → (Ca 2+, Mg 2+)(aq) + SO 2− 4 (aq) + CO 2 (g) + H 2 O
Pure lime is soluble in water containing carbonic acid, a natural, weak acid which is a solution of carbon dioxide in water and acid rain so it will slowly wash away, but this characteristic also produces autogenous or self-healing process where the dissolved lime can flow into cracks in the material and be redeposited, automatically repairing ...
Rain water contains dissolved carbon dioxide taken from the atmosphere. Some of the dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with the water to form carbonic acid, which remains in solution. Minerals containing calcium and magnesium form soluble bicarbonates when exposed to carbonic acid. Water containing these minerals is known as "hard water".
Speleogenesis is the origin and development of caves, the primary process that determines essential features of the hydrogeology of karst and guides its evolution. It often deals with the development of caves through limestone, caused by the presence of water with carbon dioxide dissolved within it, producing carbonic acid which permits the dissociation of the calcium carbonate in the limestone.
Tufa columns at Mono Lake, California. Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertine or thermogene travertine.