Abstract
The precipitation falling in the eastern United States contains higher concentrations of sulfuric and nitric acids than in less polluted areas. Precipitation is normally acidic even in unpolluted areas, where the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves in water to form carbonic acid, H2CO3. Unpolluted precipitation also contains slight quantities of nitric acid (formed by lightning and by microbial activity) and sulfuric acid (formed from naturally occurring sulfur dioxide) as well as alkaline chemicals. Concerns about acidic precipitation focus on the quantity of acidity entering ecosystems rather than the simple presence of sulfuric and nitric acids.
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© 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
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Binkley, D., Driscoll, C.T., Allen, H.L., Schoeneberger, P., McAvoy, D. (1989). Introduction. In: Acidic Deposition and Forest Soils. Ecological Studies, vol 72. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3586-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3586-6_1
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8167-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3586-6
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