What is Chemical Rain?
Chemical rain, also known as acid rain, is a mixture of wet and dry deposition of high amounts of nitric and sulfuric acid from the atmosphere. It comes from both natural and man-made sources, natural being volcanoes and decaying of vegetation, and man-made being burning of fossil fuels.
Volcanoes are typical natural sources of SO2, or sulfur dioxide, however their contributions to chemical rain are generally small compared to those made from human activity related sources.
Fossil fuel combustion emits SO2 and NOx (nitrogen oxides) into the atmosphere in grave amounts. About 2/3 of all SO2 and 1/4 of all NOx in the United States come from technology that rely on burning fossil fuels, such as coal.
Chemical rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and various other chemicals to form acidic compounds. Winds then blow these compounds from power plants, factories, cities, and other sources into the air and across the nations, sometimes over hundreds of miles.
Volcanoes are typical natural sources of SO2, or sulfur dioxide, however their contributions to chemical rain are generally small compared to those made from human activity related sources.
Fossil fuel combustion emits SO2 and NOx (nitrogen oxides) into the atmosphere in grave amounts. About 2/3 of all SO2 and 1/4 of all NOx in the United States come from technology that rely on burning fossil fuels, such as coal.
Chemical rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and various other chemicals to form acidic compounds. Winds then blow these compounds from power plants, factories, cities, and other sources into the air and across the nations, sometimes over hundreds of miles.
It's also important to keep in mind that pure water has a pH of 7.0, a neutral state, but natural unpolluted rainwater actually has a pH of 5.6 which is acidic. The pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration. The acidity of rainwater comes from the natural presence of three substances, (carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur oxide) found in the troposphere, which is the lowest layer of the atmosphere. But with the contribution of excess SO2 and NOx from burning fossils fuels, the acidity of the rainwater increases.