Chemical Weathering of Rocks
Exploring the Environmental and
Economic Impact of the
End-Products of Chemical Reactions
Effects of Acid Rain on Rock Materials
• Acid rain will affect building materials.
• Acid rain is made of wet and dry particles from pollution and
these particles are acidic. These particles will corrode and
cause buildings to weather faster than they do naturally in
sun, rain, snow, and wind.
• Acid rain affects some materials more than others.
• Limestone, marble, and some sandstones are materials that
will be worn away more rapidly by acid rain because of the
calcite that is in them.
Effects of Acid Rain on Rock Materials
• The H+ in the acid will react with carbonate.
• These carbonate stones, like limestone and sandstone, are used to build statues,
buildings, tombstones, and monuments.
• Acid rain will also cause nickel, paint, zinc, and carbon-steel to corrode earlier than
it would with natural weathering.
• Granite and granite-based rocks are very hard rocks, and they are composed of
silicate materials like quartz. These materials are more resistant to the affects of
acid rain.
• Granite is being used for buildings instead of the carbonate stones because it is not
affected by the acid rain.
Features Worn Away
Comparing Non-Weathered and
Weathered Limestone
Chemically Weathered Gravestones
Another Example of Chemical
Weathering
Damage from Acid Rain
Effects of an Acidic
Environment
http://www.geologi.emilia-romagna.it/rivista/2006-23_DelMonte.pdf
Formation of Acid Rain
Summary
•Acid rain contains a pH of less than four, and its harmful effects
are known.
•Acid rain is any precipitation (rain, snow, fog) with high levels of
H+ found in acids like sulfuric acid.
•Acid rain will harm and destroy our environment – biotic and
abiotic
•Acid rain will affect lakes, streams, wetlands, and other aquatic
environments by changing the pH in these ecosystems and
making them uninhabitable.
Summary
• Acid rain will cause waters to become acidic and then
aluminum will be released from the soil. Aluminum then
makes its way from soil into lakes and streams.
Aluminum is toxic to certain life forms.
• Acid rain will remove nutrients from soil and this
damages forests, especially those at higher elevations.
• Acid rain will affect areas far from where the rain falls
because it flows into streams, lakes, and marshes and
is carried to areas that may not have acid rain.
• Acid rain also falls on, and directly affects, aquatic
habitats.
Picture Credits
Slide 4: Barbieri, N. (2005). Acid rain on monuments [Print]. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pollution_-_Damaged_by_acid_rain.jpg
Slide 5: Stuby, J. (2009). Weathered and unweathered Ordovivian limestone
[Print]. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weathering_Limestone_State_College_PA.jpg.
Released to public domain.
Slide 6: Peripitus. (2008). Pet's gravestones at Marble Hill Ruins [Print].
Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pet_Gravestones__Marble_Hill.JPG
Slide 7: MacLeod, S.. (2002). Tafoni-like salt weathering of building stone on
the island of Gozo, Malta. [Print]. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salt_weathering_in_gozo.jpg Released to public
domain.
Slide 8: Parks Photo Archive. (1935). Washington as Commander-in-Chiefbefore . [Print]. Retrieved from
http://www.whatischemistry.unina.it/en/martmarmo.html
Brochmann, K. (1994). Acid rain damage to statue of George Washington- after.
[Print]. Retrieved from http://www.whatischemistry.unina.it/en/martmarmo.html
Slide 9: Del Monte, M. (2006). Statue in Dresden. [Print]. Retrieved from
http://www.geologi.emilia-romagna.it/rivista/2006-23_DelMonte.pdf
Slide 10: EPA (2006). Acid Rain. [Print]. Retrieved from