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Abstract

There is a tremendous effort by various scientific groups to study the fate of carbon dioxides in the atmosphere. Two important methods for the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere are scavenging during rain events and photosynthesis by plants to oxygen and sugar. Here we show that atmospheric acidity due to sulfur (IV) and nitrogen oxides which are present in the range of few parts per million can lower the pH of the rain droplets and decrease the solubility of CO2 and thus scavenging rate. CO2 (gas)+H2O�CO2(aq)�HCO3 -1+H+. Although the amount of acidic gases in the atmosphere is only in the ppm range, the pH for small droplet can reach as low as 4. As more acidic the water becomes due to the presence of trace of S (IV) and nitrogen oxide, reaction 1 above will shift to the left and less CO2 will dissolve. Furthermore, it is well known that the first step during photosynthesis of CO2 to oxygen by plant leaves is the dissolution of gases CO2 into the moist surface of the plant leaves. The atmospheric acidity will lower the rate of the first step and thus acts as an inhibitor for the process of photosynthesis of CO2 to oxygen. A simple mathematical model based on the interaction of aqueous CO2 , S (IV) and NOx chemistry will be presented to support the above conclusion, namely that atmospheric acidity has a critical effects on the CO2 resident time in the atmosphere.

Biography

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