Effects of Acid Rain on North Americas Aquatic Ecosystems
In the past century, one of the greatest threats to North America's aquatic ecosystem has been the widespread acidification of hundreds of thousands of waterways. Acid rain has effected plant and animal life within aquatic ecosystems, as well as microbiologic activity by affecting the rates of decomposition and the accumulation of organic matter. What causes this poisonous rain, and what can be done to improve North America's water quality and prevent future catastrophes? To answer these questions, we must first examine the cause and formation of acid rain, as well as understand ways to decrease or prevent its formation.Formation of acid rain. Acid deposition, more commonly known as acid rain, occurs when emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and oxidants to form acidic compounds. This mixture forms a mild solution of sulfuric and nitric acid which then falls to the earth in either wet (rain, snow, sleet or fog) or dry (gas and particles) form. Approximately one-half of the atmosphere's acidity falls back to earth through dry deposition in the form of particles and gases, and are then spread hundreds of miles by winds where they settle on surfaces of bu
For example, frogs seem to be the toughest survivor by being able to tolerate a pH up to 4. where acid rain is most common include the New York Adirondacks, mid-Appalachian highlands, and the upper Midwest. A second pattern is the gradual decrease in pH level over a prolonged period of time interfering with fish reproduction; therefore, causing decrease in fish population, and a change in size and age of the population. Lakes and streams become acidic (pH value goes down) when the water itself and its surrounding soil cannot buffer, or shield, the acid rain enough to balance its pH level. Changes in pH level have caused alterations in the structure of the aquatic plant life involved in primary production. These pH shocks usually occur in early spring when melting snow releases acidic elements accumulated during the winter into a lake or stream causing a rapid decrease in pH level, which in turn causes fish to die. "The biochemical transformations of detrital organic matter by microbial metabolism are fundamental to nutrient cycling and energy flux within the system, and the trophic relationships within lake ecosystems are almost entirely dependent on detrital structure" (Brittenbender, B. Normal or clean rainfall--without pollutants--is slighty acidic due to carbon dioxide, a natural gas in the air that dissolves in water to form weak carbonic acid. This process involves adding large quantities of hydrated lime to the waters in order to increase the alkalinity and pH.
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