What Are the Different Acid Rain Causes?
Acid rain is a broad term that describes low pH precipitation that combines with acidic particles in the air, and gets deposited on land and in waters. The primary cause of acid rain is sulfur that reacts, in the atmosphere, to become sulfur dioxide. The major source of this sulfur is coal-burning power plants, while secondary acid rain causes for sulfur can be natural, such as volcanoes and bacterial activities. Nitrogen oxides are the other major cause of acid precipitation. These gases usually result from the burning of fossil fuels, particularly in power plants and automobiles. Generally, normal rain tends to be somewhat on the acidic side, with a pH of less than 7. The introduction of acidic molecules from acid deposition, including precipitation and the fall of the particles themselves, can greatly lower the pH of the water and surrounding soils. These acid rain effects can be quite devastating to aquatic life, soil ecology, and to forests — particularly in mountainous areas. Aci
