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Name: Collin
Status: Student
Grade: 4-5
Location: PA
Country: United States
Date: July 2006
Question:
Why is the pH in acid rain lower in Washington DC than it is in Lancaster, PA?


Replies:
Collin,

There is only a small difference in the pH of precipitation between Washington (4.6 on an annual basis) and Lancaster, PA (4.4 or 4.5 on an annual basis). The pH at Washington may be slightly higher because the weather is affected more by Atlantic Ocean air, which is sometimes cleaner than the air coming from the west and southwest over Lancaster.

David R. Cook
Climate Research Section
Environmental Science Division
Argonne National Laboratory


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