Acid Rain Tests Of Leeds 1994 to 1995

Environmental Scientist

The Acid Rain Tests of Leeds 1994/95 aimed to discover the nature of the problem in the city. A number of sites were chosen around the city, which were visited once a month and tested for pH with the mobile unit pictured above. It was thought to be of use to have a directional rain gauge, but this turned out to be of little use.

The following representative maps show how acid deposition varies across space and time. The variation within each month is often quite large. The variation between each month seems to follow a curved pattern.

The theory is that rainfall is naturally acidic, being normally 5.5pH. Official pH levels for the Leeds area were given as 4.5pH. The following results show quite a variance from these expected figures. Indeed, they show particular patterns.

The following results were similar to those discovered in the Acid Rain Tests of Leeds from November 1993 to March 1994.

The pH levels in September showed no acid deposition

The increases in acid deposition seem to follow the natural winter die back of biological systems. When there is much less plant growth, there is a greater amount of acid deposition. Once plants begin to grow in springtime, the acidity of the rain seems to reduce.

This study demonstrates acid rain is a complex issue, where there are many variations across a small geographical area, within every monthly period. The variation throughout the months seem to follow a particular pattern, which varies slightly from year to year ( the 93/94 figures were similar ). If biology does offer protection from acid rain, then humanity is being reckless in destroying these natural systems.

The Daily Star reported the results on page 2. The comments from The Star Says seems to miss the point a little. It is typical for us ( me & you ) to see a problem and look for someone else to blame. I switch on the electricity and then blame the government for not doing anything about air pollution. Its a little like I drive my car and complain about road congestion, or I flush my toilet and complain about sewage in the rivers. It really is down to the individual to do their bit to live more in balance with nature, as opposed to engineering against it.