Related Experiment Videos
Acid rain: chemistry and transport
1Department of Trade and Industry, Warren Spring Laboratory, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Herts, Great Britain.
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
|January 1, 1988
Summary
This review covers acid deposition, detailing pollutant emissions, chemical transformations, transport, and deposition. It analyzes global sulfur and nitrogen oxide trends and their acidic end products.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Atmospheric Science
- Ecology
Background:
- Acid deposition results from atmospheric pollutants like sulfur and nitrogen oxides.
- Understanding these pollutants' life cycle is crucial for environmental management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review key features of emission, chemistry, transport, and deposition of acid deposition pollutants.
- To present global emission trends and spatial distributions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides.
- To describe chemical/physical transformation processes and deposition patterns.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of scientific studies on acid deposition.
- Analysis of global emission data (natural and anthropogenic).
- Summary of chemical and physical transformation processes.
- Presentation of deposition data (wet and dry) through measurements and models.
Main Results:
- Global emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides show significant trends over the last century.
- Key chemical and physical processes transform primary emissions into acidic compounds.
- Both wet and dry deposition pathways contribute to the spatial and temporal patterns of acid deposition.
Conclusions:
- Acid deposition is a complex phenomenon driven by pollutant emissions, chemistry, transport, and deposition.
- Comprehensive understanding of these processes is essential for mitigating environmental impacts.
- Further research on pollutant interactions and deposition mechanisms is warranted.