Acid Deposition And The Acidification Of Soils And Waters

The majority of this book was written in 1983-84 while the senior author was a Visiting Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. We believe that the approach to the problem of acid deposition effects on soils and waters developed during this collaboration contains ele ments that are significantly different from most prior work in this area. Some of the material and the software used in the development of these concepts stem from earlier individual efforts of the authors. However, what we believe to be the more significant concepts concerning the processes by which alkalinity may be developed in acid soil solutions, and by which acid deposition may contrib ute to the loss of this alkalinity, were the result of this collaboration. The ultimate usefulness of these concepts in understanding and dealing with various aspects of the problems associated with acid deposition cannot be adequately gauged at the present time. They must first withstand tests of con sistency with available observation, and of direct experimentation. It is our hope that dissemination through this book will facilitate this process within the scientific community. The authors wish to thank the administration of the Environmental Science Division at ORNL, and the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University for their support in arranging this collaboration. We also wish to express our appreciation for the financial support provided by EPA. Personal thanks are due to Dr.

Provides a basic account of the acid rain story and covers the social and historical background to the effects of emissions on health and the evironment. It provides a wide-ranging but integrated account of this issue which has been of environmental concern for several dcades and, now that control strategies have been enacted in Europe and North America, the author gives consideration to the time-scale for recovery of an acid-damaged ecosystem and the alternatives available.

various places of the world. Thus, it is hoped that this up-to-date subseries would increase the "awareness" of the world's citizens and encourage governments to devote more attention and resources to address this issue. The series editors thank the international panel of contributors for bringing this timely series into completion. We also wish to acknowledge the very insightful input of the following colleagues: Prof. A. L. Page ofthe University of California, Prof. T. C. Hutchinson of the University of Toronto, and Dr. Steve Lindberg of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We also wish to thank the superb effort and cooperation of the volume editors in handling their respective volumes. The constructive criticisms of chapter reviewers also deserve much appreciation. Finally, we wish to convey our appreciation to my secretary, Ms. Brenda Rosier, and my technician, Ms. Claire Carlson, for their very able assistance in various aspects of this series. Aiken, South Carolina Domy C. Adriano Coordinating Editor Preface to Acidic Precipitation, Volume 4 (Advances in Environmental Science) Acidic precipitation and its effects have been the focus ofintense research for over two decades. Initially, research centered on the acidity status and acidification of surface waters and consequent impact on the status of sports fisheries; evidence suggested impacts on fisheries in Sweden and Norway, and in North America, in eastern Ontario, Quebec, and in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.

'Acid rain' is a broad term used to describe several ways that acids fall out of the atmosphere. A more precise term is acid deposition, which has two parts: wet and dry. Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and snow. As this acidic water flows over and through the ground, it affects a variety of plants and animals. The strength of the effects depends on many factors, including how acidic the water is, the chemistry and buffering capacity of the soils involved, and the types of fish, trees, and other living things that rely on the water. Dry deposition refers to acidic gases and particles. About half of the acidity in the atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition. The wind blows these acidic particles and gases onto buildings, cars, homes, and trees. Dry deposited gases and particles can also be washed from trees and other surfaces by rainstorms. When that happens, the runoff water adds those acids to the acid rain, making the combination more acidic than the falling rain alone. Prevailing winds blow the compounds that cause both wet and dry acid deposition across state and national borders, and sometimes over hundreds of miles. This new book combines an excellent background article with over 900 abstracts and book citations. Easy access is provided by title, author, and subject indexes.