Question

Write a short note on the causes and effects of global warming and acid rain.

Answer 1

Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation that contains acidic components, such as sulfuric acid or nitric acid, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The precipitation is not necessarily wet or liquid; the definition includes dust, gasses, rain, snow, fog and hail. The type of acid rain that contains water is called wet deposition. Acid rain formed with dust or gasses is called dry deposition.

Causes

The term acid rain was coined in 1852 by Scottish chemist Robert Angus Smith, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry, which calls him the "father of acid rain." Smith decided on the term while examining rainwater chemistry near industrial cities in England and Scotland. He wrote about his findings in 1872 in the book "Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology."

In the 1950s, scientists in the United States started studying the phenomenon, and in the 1960s and early 1970s, acid rain became recognized as a regional environmental issue that affected Western Europe and eastern North America.

Though manmade pollutants are currently affecting most acidic precipitation, natural disasters can be a factor as well. For example, volcanoes can cause acid rain by blasting pollutants into the air. These pollutants can be carried around the world in jet streams and turned into acid rain far from the volcano.

After an asteroid supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs 65.5 million years ago, sulfur trioxide was blasted into the air. When it hit the air, it turned into sulfuric acid, generating a downpour of acid rain, according to a paper published in 2014 in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Even before that, over 4 billion years ago, it is suspected that the air may have had 10,000 times as much carbon dioxide as today. Geologists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison backed up this theory be studying rocks and publishing the results in a 2008 issue of the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. "At [those levels of carbon dioxide], you would have had vicious acid rain and intense greenhouse [effects]. That is a condition that will dissolve rocks," said study team member John Valley. [Early Earth Marred by Acid Rain]

Answer 2

Global Warming Causes

Greenhouse gases are the primary cause of global warming. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, and, in some cases, chlorine and bromine-containing compounds are among them. The accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere alters the radiative equilibrium. Because greenhouse gases absorb some of the Earth's outgoing radiation and re-radiate it back towards the surface, their overall effect is to warm the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere.

Effects of Global Warming

1. One of the most difficult tasks confronting climate researchers is predicting the consequences of global warming. This is due to the fact that natural processes that cause rain, snowfall, hailstorms, and sea level rise are dependent on a wide range of variables.
2. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict the size of future greenhouse gas emissions because this is largely determined by technological advancements and political decisions.
3. Global warming has a variety of negative consequences, some of which are discussed here. For starters, extra water vapour in the atmosphere falls back as rain, causing floods in various parts of the world. When the weather warms, evaporation from both land and sea increases.

Causes of Acid rain

Acid rain is caused by Sulphur and Nitrogen particles that mix with the wet components of rain. Sulphur and nitrogen particles that mix with water can be found in two ways: man-made (emissions from industries) or natural (lightning strikes in the atmosphere releasing nitrogen oxides and volcanic eruptions releasing Sulphur oxide).

Effects of Acid rain

1. Acid rain is extremely damaging to agriculture, plants, and animals. It washes away all nutrients necessary for plant growth and survival. Acid rain has an impact on agriculture because it changes the composition of the soil.
2. In both animals and humans, it causes respiratory problems.
3. Acid rain has an impact on the aquatic ecosystem when it falls and flows into rivers and ponds. It changes the chemical composition of the water to a state that is harmful to the aquatic ecosystem's ability to survive and causes water pollution.
4. Acid rain also corrodes water pipes, resulting in heavy metals such as iron, lead, and copper leaching into drinking water.

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