. The Case against the rain : a report on acid precipitation and Ontario programs for remedial --. Acid rain. Fundamental Chemistry Not all the acid in rain comes from pollution; "clean" or "normal" rain IS slightly acidic due to adsorption of small amounts of natural atmos- pheric carbon dioxide which, when dissolved in water, forms a weak acid, carbonic acid, similar to that found in soda water or carbonated soft drinks. Rain is also affected by natural sources of air pollution such as forest fires and volcanos. However, "acid rain" in northeast- ern No
. The Case against the rain : a report on acid precipitation and Ontario programs for remedial --. Acid rain. Fundamental Chemistry Not all the acid in rain comes from pollution; "clean" or "normal" rain IS slightly acidic due to adsorption of small amounts of natural atmos- pheric carbon dioxide which, when dissolved in water, forms a weak acid, carbonic acid, similar to that found in soda water or carbonated soft drinks. Rain is also affected by natural sources of air pollution such as forest fires and volcanos. However, "acid rain" in northeast- ern North America is frequently many times more acidic than normal rain because of sulphur and nitro- gen emissions from man's activities. Sulphates are believed to cause about two-thirds of the acidity in precipitation and nitrates responsi- ble for about one-third, throughout most of Ontario. The rate of the conversion reac- tion of oxides into acids, and exactly how acids are formed in the atmos- phere during long-range transport, is still an area of intensive research. There are several complicated pathways or mechanisms by which oxidation can occur. Which path is taken is dependent upon numerous factors such as the concentration of heavy metals in airborne particulate matter, the intensity of sunlight, humidity and the amount of ammonia present. For example, airborne particulate metals such as manganese and iron catalize or speed-up the conversion of sulphur dioxide to its oxidation products, sulphuric acid and sulphates. The process by which acids are deposited through rain or snow is called "wet deposition". Another atmospheric process, known as "dry deposition", is the process by which particles such as fly ash, or gases such as sulphur dioxide or nitric oxide are deposited, or adsorbed onto surfaces. While these particles or gases are not always in an acidic state prior to deposition, it is known that they can be converted into acids after contacting wate
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