Acid Rain Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Acid Rain - Research Proposal Example Most scientists concur that acid rain is produced by the combination of sulphur and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere which become oxidized and form acid (Spellman, 14). In highly industrialized nations, various manufacturing smokestacks and other pollution-generating industrial equipment release sulphur and nitrogen into the atmosphere as a by-product of industrial and chemical activity. For instance, the burning of various fossil fuels creates a chemical reaction which releases sulphur and other harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. The basic physics principle which describes the fact that warm air rises is the primary reason why industrial by-products produced in high temperature environments drift into the atmosphere. Once in place, the oxidized sulphur and nitrogen combine with forming clouds or current rainwater, changing the pH of the water where it can cause significant damage terrestrially. There are additional compounds which speed up the process of absorbing these pollutants, including ammonia and ozone (Rst2.edu, 2). Ammonia is a man-made pollutant pumped into the atmosphere by industrial and chemical activity while ozone exists naturally. These two compounds alter the chemical structure of the sulphur and nitrogen, creating acidic downpour which can leech into environmental systems and cause ecological problems. There are also natural causes of acid rain, including volcanic activity at the Earth’s surface and oil (Rst2.edu, 2). Volcanic activity produces high levels of sulphur which generally rush out of the volcanic opening in a phenomenon known as the pyroclastic flow (Howald, 3). These sulphuric materials are ejected at such high levels of speed that they are thrust high into the upper atmosphere where they are carried by the jet stream, a global air current system. This maintains the ability to carry large volumes of sulphur particles all across the