Factors controlling the acidity of natural rainwater
@article{Charlson1982FactorsCT, title={Factors controlling the acidity of natural rainwater}, author={Robert J. Charlson and Henning Rodhe}, journal={Nature}, year={1982}, volume={295}, pages={683-685} }
It is often assumed1–4 that the pH of natural rainwater is controlled by the dissociation of dissolved CO2, has a value of 5.6, and that decreases below this are due to the addition of acidic components by human activity. However, decreases could be due to the removal by rainwater of naturally occurring acids from the air (notably H2SO4 in the natural portion of the sulphur cycle). Consideration of the cycling of water and sulphate through the atmosphere and the amount and composition of…
497 Citations
On the composition of precipitation water and its acidity
- Environmental Science
- 1986
The aim of this paper is to calculate the pH from the mean ionic composition of precipitation water published by several workers in the literature and to provide some characteristics of regional and…
Background Precipitation Acidity
- Environmental Science
- 1983
Existing data concerning the precipitation chemistry of unpolluted areas are reviewed in order to better understand background acidity. The knowledge of this parameter is relevant for assessing the…
Chemical composition and acidity of rainfall in the Alligator Rivers Region, Northern Territory, Australia
- Environmental Science
- 1990
Hydrochloric acid from chlorocarbons: a significant global source of background rain acidity
- Environmental Science
- 2001
Hydrochloric acid, measured as non-sea-salt chloride (nssCl−), is a ubiquitous component of continental and marine “background” rain, with concentrations ranging between 1.5 and 3.2 μeq/l. The…
Dominating influence of nh3 on the oxidation of aqueous SO2: The coupling of NH3 and SO2 in atmospheric water
- Environmental Science
- 1989
Factors Governing the pH, Availability of H+, and Oxidation Capacity of Rain
- Environmental Science
- 1982
The acidity of rain is coupled to redox reactions in air and in atmospheric water. The pH, an intensive quantity,
needs to be distinguished from the base neutralizing
capacity. For acidic rain…
Soil acidification from atmospheric ammonium sulphate in forest canopy throughfall
- Environmental ScienceNature
- 1982
Acid rain commonly has high concentrations of dissolved SO2−4, NH+4 and NO−3. Sulphuric and nitric acids are usually considered to be the acidic components, whereas ammonium has a tendency to…
Study of chemical composition in wet atmospheric precipitation in Eshidiya area, Jordan
- Environmental Science
- 2005
Seasonal variation of gaseous HNO3 and NH3 at a Tropical Savannah site
- Environmental Science
- 1990
Gaseous nitric acid and ammonia were sampled with annular denuders at a forest savannah site from April to December 1987. The analysis of the extract was made spectrophotometrically and by a…
Chemical characterization of precipitation at a coastal site in Trombay, Mumbai, India
- Environmental ScienceEnvironmental monitoring and assessment
- 2010
The major source contributors for the ions in precipitation are sea salt (Na, Cl, and K) and fossil fuel combustion (SO4 and NO3).
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 29 REFERENCES
Reevaluation of the role of dimethyl sulphide in the sulphur budget
- Environmental ScienceNature
- 1978
THE possible existence of an oceanic source of atmospheric SO2 has recently been suggested for the following reasons. First, to account for the observed1 SO2 background concentration of 0.1 × 10−6g…
The Yearly Circulation of Chloride and Sulfur in Nature; Meteorological, Geochemical and Pedological Implications. Part II
- Environmental Science
- 1959
The circulation of air borne oceanic constituents is discussed to the extent available data permit. From data on sea salt particles in the atmosphere and their fall rate it is estimated that they are…
Sulfate enrichment in marine aerosols owing to biogenic gaseous sulfur compounds
- Environmental Science
- 1980
The seawater SO4− ratio is 0.25. However, sulfate enrichments with respect to Na+ have been observed in marine aerosols by several authors. In the northern hemisphere, such an enrichment could be…
Acid Rain: A Serious Regional Environmental Problem
- Environmental ScienceScience
- 1974
Only some of the ecological and economic effects of this widespread introduction of strong acids into natural systems are known at present, but clearly they must be considered in proposals for new energy sources and in the development of air quality emission standards.
The Global Sulfur Cycle
- Environmental Science
- 1973
The chemistry of gaseous sulfur compounds in the atmosphere at concentrations less than 0.1 ppm depends upon nonuniform distributions of sources and sinks as well as the variable physical properties…
Sulfate in precipitation as observed by the European atmospheric chemistry network
- Environmental Science
- 1978
Bulk composition of aerosols in the remote troposphere
- Environmental Science
- 1980
Bulk measurements of particulate NO3−, SO3−−, Cl−, and NH4+ were made over continental and marine areas, at altitudes from 0.17 to 7 km, as a part of project Gametag. Above the boundary layer, little…
Acidic sulfate aerosols: Formation from heterogeneous oxidation by O3 in clouds
- Environmental Science
- 1977