What is Acid Rain?

What is Acid Rain? Acid rain is any form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that is possesses high levels of hydrogen ions. It can have harmful effects on aquatic animals, plants, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules within the atmosphere to produce acids. Nitrogen oxides can be produced naturally by lightening strikes. Sulfur dioxide can be produced naturally by volcanic eruptions. The chemicals that are in acid rain can cause the paint on buildings to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and the erosion of stone statues.

North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be described as the northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Because it is on the North American Tectonic Plate, Greenland is included as part of North America geographically. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 16.5% of the Earth’s land area and about 4.8%

Image Caption: Downloaded from US EPA website. Credit: NHSavage/Wikipedia