Our research question is simple, we want to know everything we can about acid rain, from how it’s made to the effects in vegetation and ecosystem, passing by how it affects our daily life.

 

But, what is acid rain? Acid rain Is a phenomenon formed when sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are released into the atmosphere and they react with the water in clouds forming different types of sulfuric and nitric acids.

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 This makes the acid rain have a pH of 3, which is an enormous difference if we take into account that the average Ph of the rain is 5,65. This affects the ecosystem's equilibrium because the unusual value of Ph in the rain changes the soil composition, which can damage the normal growth of the plants, which are eaten by animals and both are eaten by us, so we end up intoxicating ourselves. Not only that but it also breaks up the fragile equilibrium of the Spanish and European ecosystems. All of this sounds terrible, but we know we can find solutions.

 

In order to achieve the largest understanding of the subject, we are going to do research about the effects of acid rain in all the ways we possibly can. Firstly, we are going to investigate the gasses that take part in the creation of acid rain: where are they formed and how much of them are found in the air and the air currents in order to achieve a better knowledge of how they move. But this isn’t all about the air: in second place, we are going to compare the satellite data with the on-ground data, taken by an Arduino device that will record the gasses at ground level. Thirdly we will analyze the composition of the ground, mostly in the mountainous parts of Madrid, and compare it to the data of the past years, in order to see how It Is affected by the acid rain. Then we are going to analyze how the vegetation has changed in order to adapt to the altered ground composition. And, for last but not least, we are going to plant two specimens of Senecio vulgaris to water them with both types of water: rain and tap water, in order to see how this changes the plant's growth.

 

To conclude, in this experiment and report we want to explore, as extensively as possible, how the gasses we produce affect the rain, how that rain alters the soil composition, how this changes the plant's growth and the general consequences it all has on the whole ecosystem. Above it all, we will contrast all the data obtained through research and experiments about acid rain to find the most useful ways to stop it.