Acid Rain 2

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of animals. Even though these toxic metals do not directly affect the animals, they have serious effects on humans when they are being eaten.
How did it happen? One of the main causes of acid rain is sulphur dioxide. Natural sources that let out this gas are volcanoes, sea spray , rotting vegetation and plankton. However, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are largely to be blamed for about half of the emissions of this gas in the world. When sulphur dioxide gets in the atmosphere, it oxidizes to first form a sulphate ion. It then becomes sulphuric acid as it joins with hydrogen atoms in the air and falls back down to earth in the form of acid rain, snow, or fog. Oxidation occurs the most in clouds and especially in heavily polluted air where other compounds such as ammonia and ozone help to speed up the reaction, changing more sulphur dioxide to sulphuric acid.
When did it start? Since acid rain is emmited from natural sources such as volcanoes, sea spray, ...

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