Several decades ago, precipitation in Delaware was among the most acidic
in the country. Pollutants in the air reacted with rainwater to
sprinkle sulfuric, nitric and carbonic acids onto the ground below,
affecting crops and ecosystems statewide.
The scientific consensus is that pollution controls enacted through the Clean Air Act Amendments in the 1990s and other measures have helped decrease the acidity of rain by approximately 60 percent to less harmful levels, as reflected in data gathered nationwide and by UD researchers in Lewes, Del., as part of a longstanding study.
“Every time it’s rained since 1978, we’ve collected and analyzed samples,” said Joseph Scudlark, assistant director of the School of Marine Science and Policy in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. “It’s one of the largest, longest continual records in the whole country, and the data shows pretty dramatically that the legislation is working.”
Scudlark oversees an acid rain collection site in an isolated part of Cape Henlopen State Park. A specialized container sits out in the open with a small canopy to prevent debris from entering, and precipitation triggers a sensor powered by a nearby solar panel to open the lid and capture samples. Once the rain stops, the device automatically returns the cover.
Each day at 9 a.m. Scudlark’s assistant collects the sample, which is prepared in a lab and shipped off with others obtained the same week to a central analysis station in Illinois through the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. The pH and concentration of certain substances are measured along with samples from 250 other locations around the country.
Read more: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/may/acidrain050212.html
The scientific consensus is that pollution controls enacted through the Clean Air Act Amendments in the 1990s and other measures have helped decrease the acidity of rain by approximately 60 percent to less harmful levels, as reflected in data gathered nationwide and by UD researchers in Lewes, Del., as part of a longstanding study.
“Every time it’s rained since 1978, we’ve collected and analyzed samples,” said Joseph Scudlark, assistant director of the School of Marine Science and Policy in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. “It’s one of the largest, longest continual records in the whole country, and the data shows pretty dramatically that the legislation is working.”
Scudlark oversees an acid rain collection site in an isolated part of Cape Henlopen State Park. A specialized container sits out in the open with a small canopy to prevent debris from entering, and precipitation triggers a sensor powered by a nearby solar panel to open the lid and capture samples. Once the rain stops, the device automatically returns the cover.
Each day at 9 a.m. Scudlark’s assistant collects the sample, which is prepared in a lab and shipped off with others obtained the same week to a central analysis station in Illinois through the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. The pH and concentration of certain substances are measured along with samples from 250 other locations around the country.
Read more: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/may/acidrain050212.html
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