Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Acidic precipitation, sources to effects

  • Reference work entry
Environmental Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Science ((EESS))

  • 244 Accesses

Air pollution within cities is certainly not a recent phenomenon, although it is not well documented prior to the industrial revolution (teBrake, 1975). Regional air pollution has been of public concern for hundreds of years, starting with the onset of the industrial revolution which initiated the first regional deterioration in air quality in Europe. The obvious culprit was the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal and peat, in European cities. The obvious pollutant consisted largely of partially burned particulates from wood, peat, and coal that reduced visibility, caused respiratory problems in humans, and blackened the exterior of buildings between the 18th and 20th centuries. During that time the influence on the chemistry of precipitation was not suspected except for a few far-sighted scientists (Smith, 1872). In the 1920s scientists in southern Norway noted the decline of the health of the natural run salmon in rivers and attributed the problem to acidity (Sunde, 1926). The...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 459.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Barchet, W. R., 1990. Acidic deposition and its gaseous precursors. In The Causes and Effects of Acidic Deposition, Volume III: Atmospheric Processes and Deposition. Washington, DC: US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, Ch. 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boutron, C., Candelone, J-P., and Hong, S., 1995. Greenland snow and ice cores: unique archives of large-scale pollution of the troposphere of the Northern Hemisphere by lead and other heavy metals: Sci. Total Environ., 160/161, 233–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cambray, R. S., Playford, K., Lewis, G. N.J., and Carpenter, R. C., 1989. Radioactive Fallout in Air and Rain: Results to the End of 1988. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Oxfordshire, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cosby, B. J., Hornberger, G. M., and Galloway, J. N., 1985. Modeling the effects of acid deposition: assessment of a lumped parameter model of soil water and stream water chemistry. Water Resour. Res., 21, 51–63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cowling, E., 1980, An Historical Resumé of Progress in Scientific and Public Understanding of Acid Precipitation and its Biological Consequences. Research Report 18/80, SNSF Project, Norway, 29 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, C. I., and Wu, Y-L., 1990. Dry deposition of particles and vapors. In Lindberg, S. E., Page, A. L., and Norton, S. A. (eds). Acidic Precipitation, Volume 3: Sources, Deposition, and Canopy Interactions. New York: Springer-Verlag, 103–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorham, E., 1955. On the acidity and salinity of rain. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 7, 231–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hauhs, M., and Wright, R. F., 1986. Regional pattern of acid deposition and forest decline along a cross section through Europe. Water, Air, Soil Poll., 31, 463–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henriksen, A., 1982. Acidification of groundwater in Norway. Nordic Hydrol., 13, 183–92.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hites, R. A., 1981. Sources and fates of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Am. Chem. Soc. Symp. Series, 167, 187–96.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Husar, R. B., 1986. Emissions of Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides and Trends for Eastern North America in Acid Deposition: Long term trends. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 48–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, K. W., and Snekvik, E., 1972. Low pH levels wipe out salmon and trout populations in southernmost Norway. Ambio, 1, 223–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, J., and Stein, A., 1994. The solubility of aluminum in acidic forest soils: long-term changes due to acid deposition. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 58, 85–94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nifontova, M., 1995. Radionuclides in the moss–lichen cover of tundra communities in the Yamal Peninsula. Sci. Total Environ., 160, 749–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S. A., Dillon, P. J., Evans, R. D., Mierle, G., and Kahl, J. S., 1990. The history of atmospheric deposition of Cd, Hg, and Pb in North America: evidence from lake and peat sediments. In Lindberg, S. E., Page, A. L., and Norton, S. A. (eds), Acidic Precipitation, Volume 3: Sources, Deposition, and Canopy Interactions. New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 73–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oden. S., 1968. The acidity problem: an outline of concepts. Water, Air, Soil Poll., 6, 137–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pacyna, J. M., 1990. Source–receptor relationships for atmospheric trace elements in Europe. In Lindberg, S. E., Page, A. L., and Norton, S. A. (eds), Acidic Precipitation, Volume 3: Sources, Deposition, and Canopy Interactions. New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 49–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renberg, I., and Persson, M. W., 1994. Pre-industrial atmospheric lead contamination detected in Swedish lake sediments. Nature, 368, 323–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rustad, L., Kahl, J. S., Norton, S. A., and Fernandez, I. J., 1994. Multi-year estimates of dry deposition at the Bear Brook Watershed in eastern Maine. J. Hydrol., 162, 319–36.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schindler, D. W., Kidd, K. A., Muir, D. C.G., and Lockhart, W. L., 1995. The effects of ecosystem characteristics on contaminant distribution in northern freshwater lakes. Sci. Total Environ., 160, 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. A., 1872. Air and Rain: The Beginnings of Chemical Climatology. London: Longman, Green.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinnes, E., 1995. A critical evaluation of the use of naturally growing moss to monitor the deposition of atmospheric metals. Sci. Total Environ., 160, 243–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunde, S. E., 1926, Annual Report from the Fishery Inspector to the Department of Agriculture for the Year 1926. Oslo: Norwegian Government, pp. 5–6 (in Norwegian).

    Google Scholar 

  • teBrake, W. H., 1975. Air pollution and fuel crises in preindustrial London, 1250–1650. Tech. Culture, 16, 337–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, 1987. The Causes and Effects of Acidic Deposition, Volume 1: Executive Summary. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, 1990. State of Science and Technologies, Volumes I–IV. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vesely, J., 1994. Effects of acidification on trace metal transport in fresh waters. In Steinberg, C. E.W., and Wright, R. F. (eds), Acidification of Freshwater Ecosystems. New York: Wiley Interscience, pp. 141–51.

    Google Scholar 

Cross-references

Download references

Authors
  1. Stephen A. Norton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers

About this entry

Cite this entry

Norton, S.A. (1999). Acidic precipitation, sources to effects. In: Environmental Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-412-74050-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4494-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation