How Acid Rain Affects the Aquatic Ecosystem
Abstract
This paper shows that acid rain is a reality. It is destroying our freshwater ecosystems and must be stopped in order to save them. If the problem is not fixed soon the aquatic ecosystems will be destroyed.
Table of Contents
1. What is acid rain?
2. Acidification of Freshwater
3. Effects of Freshwater Acidification
4. Where is Affected the most?
5. What is being done to fix it?
6. Conclusion
7. References
What is acid rain?
Acid rain is polluted rain, snow, or fog. The burning of fossil fuels, base metal smelting, and fuel combustion in vehicles emits sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) (FAQ Acid Rain). These gases enter the atmosphere and transform into sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3), which then acidify the water vapor. The acidified water vapor will then fall to the earth as acid rain, snow, or fog (Acid Rain and the Aquatic). This is called ìwet depositionî. There is also ìdry depositionî which falls to the ground in particulate form (FAQ Acid Rain).
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Acidification of Freshwater
The acidification of freshwater lakes and streams is not a new problem. Fish stocks probably died out in many lakes in Norway as early as the turn of the century. In the 1950ís and 1960ís this was finally associated to acid rain. Yet, it wasn't generally accepted by scientists until the 1970ís (Rivers and Lakes).
Acid rain either falls directly onto the lake or enters through the catchment (Buchdahl). A very small percentage enters directly so the majority enters through the catchment. The alkaline rich catchments can neutralize the rain. However, not all types of bedrock have the same capability of neu...
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...Available http://kola.dcu.ie/~enfo/bs/bs14.htm, October 27, 1998.
Acid Rain In Pennsylvania. [Online] Available wysiwyg://115/http://www.dep.state.pa....tate/airwaste/aq/factsheets/fs2036.htm, November 3, 1998.
Buchdahl, Joe. Freshwater Acidification. [Online] Available http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/aric/freshwat.html, October 28, 1998.
Effects of Acid Rain on Water. [Online] Available http://epa.gov/acidrain/student/water.html, October 27, 1998.
FAQ Acid Rain. [Online] Available http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/stugeon/acfacts.htm, October, 28, 1998.
Krabbenhoft, D.P. and D.A. Rickert. Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems. [Online] Available http://wwwdwimdn.er.usgs.gov/pubs/FS-216-95/index.html, October 27, 1998.
Rivers and Lakes are Dying. [Online] Available http://odin.dep.no/html/nofovalt/depter/md/publ/acid/Rivers.html, October 27, 1998.
This silent killer is destroying these beautiful lakes and their surrounding watersheds. Acid rain has an adverse effect on the lakes, and their surrounding watersheds, of the Adirondacks in New York State.Acid rain is defined as chemically polluted rainfall. It's causes are: coal burning plants, industrial factories, smelters, and car emissions. It's formed by water molecules combining with the sulfur dioxide emitted by the burning of coal and with nitrogen oxide from auto emissions.
Blue, incredibly clear, and seemingly pure, just twenty years ago it abounded in fish. But now, this exquisite lake is dead, it’s fish wiped out.” Moreover, another developmental device used in the essay “Acid Rain: Scourge from the Skies” was comparison and contrast to show the difference between the amount of polluting oxides that Canada puts into the air each year compared to the
The lake’s pH level is slightly acidic at a level of 6 and the lakes dissolved oxygen level is slightly stressful for aquatic life at a level of 4ppm. These slightly stressful levels could be a result of human activity over time and could continue to progress negatively. This could only be determined through years of continuous testing, but is quite possible.
Acid rain has been proven to have damage forests, fresh waters and soils, killing insect and aquatic life-forms. It also causes damage to buildings and impacts on human health. Many people do not know what acid rain actually is. Acid rain is any form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, low pH levels, higher than normal amounts of sulfuric and nitric acid, occurs naturally and from man made sources. Forms when gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals (what is acid rain?). The only water that will not have some amount of acidity is pure water. Pure water has a pH of 7 which is neutral; regular, unpolluted rain water has a pH of around 5.6. The acidity in rain water comes from the presence of Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxide, and Sulfur Dioxide. CO2 reacts with water to form carbonic acid. Nitrogen and water react during lightning storms, forming Nitric Oxide. NO is then oxidized to form N02. The NO2 reacts with water to form nitric acid. Due to this, the pH is lowered to be slightly acidic (Acid Rain). Acid rain can occur naturally in the environment, but the problem occurs when human interaction is the cause of the acidic levels.
The outcomes due to acid rain is most obvious in aquatic habitats. As the acidity in lakes increase, the water becomes clearer and the lives of fish and other water animals decrease. The acidity of the water does not just affect species directly, it also causes toxic substances like aluminum to be released into the water from the soil, harming fish and other aquatic animals. Lakes, rivers and marshes each have their own fragile ecosystem with many different species of plants and animals all depending on one another to survive. If a species of fish disappears, the animals which feed on it will gradually disappear too. If the extinct fish used to feed on a particular species of large insect, that insect population will start to grow, this in turn will affect the smaller insects or plankton on which the larger insect
When there is a lage amount of acid rain that falls in an area over a period of time, it can hurt the environment for all of the creatures living there. Acid rain can make a lake acidic which will most likely kill off a majority of the animals living in that lake.(McCormick 16) This happens all over the world. Michael Hopkin a reporter, and the author of “Acid rain still hurting Canada” states that, “Lakes and waterways in North America are struggling to recover from the effects of acid rain, despite reduced emissions of the pollutants that cause it. Without further cuts, it could be millennia before the worst-affected sites recover, say environmentalists.” It can also kill the animals that depend on the lake for food. When a food source that animals in an area dependon to survive gets diminished or even eliminated altogether. The animals that depended on it will either die off which will cause an even bigger problem for that area 's ecosystem, or they will need to find a new food source.If the new food that the animal found is already a food source for another animal then that causes competition for food, this may reduce the numbers of one or maybe even both animals. This all can come about because of acid rain and what it can do to the environment. On the EPA student site they have an article that shows how acid rain can affect an ecosystem 's food web. “This process continues up the entire food web. So,
Formed high in the clouds where sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides combine with oxygen and water, acid rain has a devastating ability to kill off aquatic systems, vegetation, animals, etc. The definition of acid rain is the deposition of acidic components in rain, fog, snow, and sleet. Regular rain has a pH that is slightly acidic at 5.6, but what makes one worry are the places like Washington, D.C., which possesses rain readings of 4.2 to 4.4 on the pH scale. Acid rain is mainly composed of Sulfuric Oxide (SO2) and Nitrous Oxide, which are common air pollutants from big industries, 70% of which are electric utility plants. If one views the amount pH levels of various areas around the nation it is easy to see that there is a problem, especially when a 4.0 pH level can drive many fish to die.
When a motor vehicle runs it produces nitrogen oxide which then mixes with the sulfur dioxide from power plants and other places. Together the two gasses then interact with molecules in the atmosphere. This interaction makes the molecules acidic and from there either falls as a form of wet deposition or dry deposition. Every day when people get into their form of motorized transportation, be it a car, truck, motorcycle, etcetera, they all contribute to the creation of acid deposition. Before humans started pumping these gasses into the air the environment could handle the naturally acidic precipitation, but now thanks to their involvement the precipitation has become too acidic for nature to be able to counteract the acidity. “ Over time, these neutralizing materials can be washed away by acid rain. Damage to crops, trees, lakes, rivers, and animals can result.”(What Causes Acid Rain?) Acid rain can cause damage to many different objects, living or nonliving acid rain can still
There are different negative affects of acid deposition to different environments on the earth. In soils where a possible buffer of basic material isn’t as great, plant nutrients are often lost, the germination of seeds and the growth of young seedlings are hurt, and plants may become over-fertilized by nitrogen. The plants in this instance often experience reduction in growth rates, flowering ability, and overall yield. This makes the plants more vulnerable to disease, insects, drought, and frost. Trees are also affected by acid deposition.
In some countries acid rain is a big deal. It can harm humans, wildlife, and our natural resources. Most people wont even know when acid rain occurs, it looks feels, and tastes like regular rain. Walking and swimming in acid rain is no more harmful than walking or swimming in clean water. The thing that is harmful about acid rain is the chemicals it produces. Acid rain does sound like something you would hear of in a movie, but, no it is not pure acid, it is just regular rain that has a few chemicals in it. The big concern that scientist and people have about acid rain are, what causes it and how harmful is it?
Liming will not solve the problem of acid rain, to do that we must cut
To begin with, acid rain, the product of such accidents fall onto the environment affecting it in various ways. Lakes and streams are the most affected by acidification. A survey investigated what effects acidity had on over one-thousand lakes larger than ten acres and in thousands of miles of streams. “Of the lakes and streams surveyed, acid rain caused acidity in seventy-five percent of acidic lakes and about fifty percent of the acidic streams.” (EPA) Most aquatic organisms are not competent to such acidity, therefore die and decrease biodiversity. With the decrease of biodiversity the food chain is also affected and partially lost. Water ecosystems are not the only affected, acidification also accelerates the decaying of materials. Acid rain and dry deposition of acidic particles contribute to the corrosion of metals and the deterioration of paint and stone. Such effects can reduce the value of buildings, bridges, cars, an...
The study investigated the effects in over 1,000 lakes larger than 10 acres, and in thousands of miles of streams. Acid rain was declared the cause of the acidity in 75 percent of the acidic lakes and about 50 percent of the acidic streams. (Source) When the water in a surface water is acidic, the fish population is effected in different ways. It can kill individual fish, or even completely eliminate a fish species. This leads to decreased biodiversity in lakes and streams that suffer from chronic acidity. Some plants and animals can tolerate acidic waters more than others, but even the ones who tolerate it are affected by the water changes. The plants and animals in an ecosystem are interdependent. If a species dies out from a waterbody, all of the others that feed on that species must search elsewhere for food. Generally, the younger fish are the most sensitive and if they do not die, they still may experience chronic stress, which leads to a lower body weight, and a smaller size. Acidic rain flows through the soil in a watershed, and aluminum is released from the soil into lakes and streams. The combination of the low pH, and the aluminum levels can be toxic to fish. Nitrogen specifically creates blooms of algae, both toxic and non-toxic. Nitrogen levels in water also lead to the loss of sea grass beds, and coral reefs. Episodic acidification occurs when we experience heavy downpours or melting snow. The precipitation can decrease the pH levels and leads to many fish deaths. The human population is affected because there is not an availability of seafood, and we are at risk for eating contaminated fish. Fishermen may lose their jobs or experience an economic crisis from acid
Another ecological concern when acid rain becomes an issue are lakes, rivers, and aquatic life. The lower the pH level becomes, the greater losses of aquatic life. According to Spath (1999): "At a pH less than 4, lakes become suitable habitats for white moss. This moss forms a thick covering on the lake bottom preventing nutrient exchange between the water and lake sediments (p. 83)." At a pH of 5.4, all fish typically stop reproducing. Lakes with a pH lower than 5 commonly do not contain any fish.
“Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities.” (Conserve-Energy-Future) Rivers, streams, canals, lakes, and oceans are receptacles for every imaginable kind of pollution. Even though water has the capacity to break down or dissolve many materials, especially organic compounds, pollution in our bodies of water are becoming a large problem. Pollutants such as metals, plastics, and some chlorinated hydrocarbons remain in the water and can make it poisonous for most forms of life. Even biodegradable pollutants can damage a water supply for long periods and the life forms within the water start to suffer damage due to pollution.