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Acid rain is a great problem in our world. It causes fish and plants to die in our waters. It also it causes harm to the human race, because we eat the fish, drink the water and eat the plants that have come in contact with this rain. It is a problem that we must all face together and try to get rid of. However acid rain, on it's own, isnt the biggest problem. It causes a larger problem such as aluminum poisoning, however, acid rain is very deadly, and the problems of it continuously surround us.
Acid rain is all the rain, snow, mist, basically precipitation that falls from the sky onto our planet that contains an unnatural acidic which is caused by today's industries. When products are manufactured, many chemicals are used to create it. However, because of the difficulty and cost of properly disposing of these products they are often emitted into the atmosphere with little or no treatment. And this is where most of the problems begin, but the term, acid rain, was first considered to be important about 20 years ago when scientists in Sweden and Norway first believed that acidic rain may be causing great ecological damage to the planet.
The dilemma was that by the time scientist found the problem it was already very large, and detecting an acid lake is often quite difficult. A lake does not become acid over night, it happens over a period of many years, some times decades. The changes are usually too gradual to be noticed early. At the beginning of the 20 th century most rivers and lakes, like the river Today in Norway, had not yet begun to die. However by 1926 local inspectors were noticing that many of the lakes were beginning to show signs of death with fish being found dead along the banks of these rivers.
As the winters ice began to melt off more and more hundreds of dead fish (trout in particular) were being found. It was at this time that scientist began to search for the reason. As the scientists continued to work they found many piles of dead fish, up to thousands piled together. Divers were sent in to examine the bottom of the rivers. Both live and dead specimens were taken back to labs across Norway. When the live specimens were examined they were found to have very little sodium in their blood.
This is typical, a typical symptom of acid poisoning. The acid had entered the gills of the fish and poisoned them so that they were unable to extract salt from the water to maintain their bodies sodium levels. Many scientist said that this acid poising was due to the fact that it was just after the winter and that all the snow and ice was running down into the streams and lakes. They believed that the snow had been exposed to many natural phenomena that gave the snow it's high acid content.
Other scientists were not sure that this theory was correct because at the time that the snow was added to the lakes and streams the pH. levels would change from around 5. 2 to 4. 6. They believe that such a high jump could not be attributed to natural causes. They believe that it was due to air pollution, and they were right.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England pollution had been affecting all the trees, soil and rivers in Europe and North America. However, until recently, the loses of fish was contained to the southern parts of Europe. Because of the constant onslaught of acid rain lakes and rivers began to lose their ability to counter act their affects. Much of the alkaline elements; such as calcium and limestone; in the soil had been washed away.
Lakes like these are the ones we must worry about because they will soon become extinct. A fact that may please fishermen is that in these lakes and rivers, they tend to catch older and larger fish. This may please them in the short run however they will soon have to change lakes for the fish supply will completely die quickly. The problem is that acid causes difficulties the fish's reproductive system. Often fish born in acid lakes do not survive because they are born with birth defects such as twisted and deformed spinal columns. This is a sign that they are unable to extract enough calcium from the water to fully develop their bone structure and these young soon die.
With no competition the older, stronger can grow easily, however there food is contaminated as well by the acid in the water. Soon they have not enough food for themselves and turn to cannibalism. By the late 1970 s many Norwegian scientists began to suspect that it was not only the acid in the water that was causing the deaths. They had proved that most fish could survive in a stream that had up to a 1 unit difference in pH. After many experiments and research they found that their missing link was aluminum. Aluminum is one of the most common metals on earth.
It is stored in a combined form with other elements in the earth. When it is combined, it cannot dissolve into the water and harm the fish and plants, however the acid from acid rain can easily dissolve the bond between these elements. The Aluminum is then dissolved into a more soluble state by the acid. Other metals such as Copper and iron can cause such effects upon the fish as well, however it is the aluminum that is the most common. In this form it is easily absorbed into the water and when it comes in contact with fish it causes irritation to the gills. In response the fish creates a film of mucus in the gills to stop this irritation until the irritant is gone.
However the aluminum does not go away and the fish continues to build up more and more mucus to counteract it. Eventually there is so much mucus that it clogs the gills and the fish can no longer breath and dies. Scientists now see acid, aluminum and shortages of calcium as the three determining factors in the extinction of fish. Acid lakes are deceivingly beautiful. The are crystal clear and have a luscious carpet of green algae on the bottom. The reason that these lakes are so clear is because many of the decomposer's are dead.
They cannot break down that material such as leaves and dead animals. These materials eventually sink to the bottom instead of going through the natural process of decomposition. In acid lakes decomposition is very slow. The whole metabolism of the lake is slowed down. During this same period of time the Canadian department of fisheries spent eight years dumping sulfuric acid into an Ontario lake to see the effects of the decrease in the pH over a number of years.
At the pH of 5. 9 the first organisms began to disappear, they were shrimps. They started out at a population of about seven million, but at the pH of 5. 9 they were totally wiped out and also minnows, because they couldnt reproduce themselves. At the time when the pH was of 5. 8, new trout were failing to be produced because many smaller organisms that served as food to it had been wiped out earlier. With not enough food the older fish did not have the energy to reproduce. Upon reaching the pH of 5. 1 it was noted that the trout also became cannibals. At a pH of 5. 6 the external skeletons of crayfish softened and they were soon infected with parasites, and there eggs were destroyed by fungi.
When the pH went down to 5. 1 they were almost gone. By the end of the experiment none of the major species had survived the trials of the acid. The next experiment conducted by the scientists was to try and bring the lake back to life. They cut in half the amount of acid that they dumped to simulate a large scale cleanup.
Soon again the crawfish and minnows began to reproduce again and the lake eventually came back to life. A scientist in Norway, by the name of Dr. Rosenqvist, had a problem believing that it was the acid rain on it's own that was affecting the lakes in such a deadly way. "Why is it that during heavy rain, the swollen rivers can be up to fifteen times more acid than the rain? It cannot be the rain alone that is doing it, can it?" Many scientist avoided him for this but they couldnt come up with a better answer.
Soon the scientists were forced to accept this theory. Acid rain is a big problem. It causes the death of our lakes, our rivers, our wild life and most importantly us. It kills our lakes and rivers by decreasing its ability to break down certain materials. Our wildlife because they have to drink the water and eat of the contaminated fish. And it also causes problems such as the release of aluminum and lead into our water supplies and as affect we are suffering from it.
All around the world there are many birth defects being attributed to it. The main thing we must do is to cut down the releases of chemicals that cause it. But it will take time, even if we were to stop today, we would have the problem for years to come because of the build up in the soil. Let's hope we can do something before these deaths, chemicals, and impurities begin to affect us firsthand. Works Cited Lucent books, Inc. 1990, Steward Gail Acid Rain. Penguin Publishing House, 1997, Pearce Fred Acid Rain.
What is it and what is it doing to us? New York Publishers, 1999, William Stone Acid Rain. Fiend or Foe?
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Research essay sample on The Growing Problem Of Acid Rain
