What’s in Rainwater?

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karstopography
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What’s in Rainwater?

#1

Post: # 45914Unread post karstopography
Sat May 01, 2021 8:37 am

Depends. Perhaps Phosphorus from the Saharan Desert.
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/na ... n-s-plants

Likely Available Nitrogen, more if you have a thunderstorm.
https://theconversation.com/ive-always- ... nts-109714

https://rainwatertanksdirect.com.au/blo ... ants-need/
CO2 also, which helps acidify the soil making other nutrients more available.

What else I’m I missing?
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Amateurinawe
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#2

Post: # 45921Unread post Amateurinawe
Sat May 01, 2021 9:45 am

[mention]karstopography[/mention] I remember in the eighties a bit of a spat between the uk and Scandinavian countries over the sulphur emitted from the uk's coal fired power stations which produced a sulphuric acid rain. It effected trees but perhaps worse it impacted the lakes and streams and fish such as trout and salmon. I think the sulphur problem quite rightly got sorted but now the issues are nitrogen oxides from emissions causing acid rain, not just the uk at fault with this one though.
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worth1
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#3

Post: # 45923Unread post worth1
Sat May 01, 2021 9:53 am

Seems like if humans are involved something always goes wrong with the environment.
I remember the big acid rain thing too.
You don't hear about it .much anymore.
Now we've moved on to carbon emissions and methane.
One thing rain brings us sometimes is mud out of the north west.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Growing Coastal
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#4

Post: # 45924Unread post Growing Coastal
Sat May 01, 2021 10:00 am

True. We don't hear much about acid rain anymore because Canada and the US did something about it.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/acid-r ... -1.4934402
Nobody talks much about acid rain anymore.

But the one-time scourge of North American lakes and forests got a mention yesterday at the funeral of former U.S. president George H.W. Bush.

Delivering a eulogy for his old colleague and friend, former prime minister Brian Mulroney singled out Bush's environmental record as a lasting part of his legacy.

"President Bush's decision to go forward with strong environmental legislation, including the Clear Air Act, that resulted in the Acid Rain Accord with Canada, is a splendid gift to future generations of Americans and Canadians to savour in the air they breathe and the water they drink," Mulroney said.

The fact that the acid rain threat has been mostly eliminated testifies to how effective Canada and the U.S. once were in responding together to a complex, shared environmental problem.

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karstopography
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#5

Post: # 45925Unread post karstopography
Sat May 01, 2021 10:17 am

[mention]worth1[/mention] we get that high plains, west Texas dust in our rain once in a while along with the Saharan dust, not in the same event, but definitely get dirt in the rain.

Several years ago, we got something blown in from Mexico associated with some fires there and that ash, the deposits were harmful to the plants.

https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/rain2.html

Reading the above summary from the link on rainfall, coastal rainfall has a different composition than well inland. Interesting how variable rain composition can be.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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worth1
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#6

Post: # 45927Unread post worth1
Sat May 01, 2021 10:30 am

karstopography wrote: Sat May 01, 2021 10:17 am @worth1 we get that high plains, west Texas dust in our rain once in a while along with the Saharan dust, not in the same event, but definitely get dirt in the rain.

Several years ago, we got something blown in from Mexico associated with some fires there and that ash, the deposits were harmful to the plants.

https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/rain2.html

Reading the above summary from the link on rainfall, coastal rainfall has a different composition than well inland. Interesting how variable rain composition can be.
If the smoke event was in the 90's I remember it.
I was actually mad it was so horrible.
It was like everyone on the coast decided to BBQ at the same time.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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bower
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#7

Post: # 45931Unread post bower
Sat May 01, 2021 11:46 am

I remember from some ecology class that boreal forest fires put some N into the rain.
Have been told that our cold and rainy climate acidifies the soil. Why exactly I don't know.
Certainly the native vegetation is acidic (conifers) and the clay is as well.... But folks are advised to lime every year to keep up with acidification.
Our rain systems come from everywhere. Today's weather reports show the bigger picture, it is not uncommon to see a storm travel up from Texas, or it might come blowing from the west across Canada, or from the East across the atlantic. Not going to mention the other direction. :lol: Last week we had one that took it's moisture from the tropics, down around Cuba. I suppose those rains' contents would be different, depending on their origin. Except that they all pick up moisture over the ocean on their way here. So perhaps it's all the same.
I've never seen dirt in the rain... Sometimes we've had smog "from Pittsburgh" or even smoke haze from BC, but nothing you would notice in the rain itself, unless you tested it.
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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Rockoe10
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#8

Post: # 45935Unread post Rockoe10
Sat May 01, 2021 12:18 pm

This came up in discussion recently around me. The topic of acid rain and how it's not talked about anymore. Did some research and was happy to see it was partially taken care of, with emission credits and what not.

Makes you wonder if watering your plants with rain water is that much better than tap water??? I would guess that your geographical location and City water distribution would play major roles in that decision
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worth1
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#9

Post: # 45937Unread post worth1
Sat May 01, 2021 12:58 pm

I bet China's and India's rain water would be over the top in lord only knows what.
Bangladesh seems to be the worst in the world for air quality.
And whatever is in the air is going to come down with the rain.
By cleaning up one countries environment and exporting the pollution to another country isn't a viable solution to the problem.
When I was little we would make snow ice cream from the second snow.
No idea if it helped and would be skeptical of doing it now where I live.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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Amateurinawe
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#10

Post: # 45939Unread post Amateurinawe
Sat May 01, 2021 1:38 pm

[mention]worth1[/mention] Don't eat yellow snow
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Rockoe10
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#11

Post: # 45944Unread post Rockoe10
Sat May 01, 2021 2:41 pm

We make snow cones here in PA. Kids insist on lemon flavored. Then they ask why I'm laughing 🤣
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karstopography
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#12

Post: # 45947Unread post karstopography
Sat May 01, 2021 3:15 pm

worth1 wrote: Sat May 01, 2021 12:58 pm I bet China's and India's rain water would be over the top in lord only knows what.
Bangladesh seems to be the worst in the world for air quality.
And whatever is in the air is going to come down with the rain.
By cleaning up one countries environment and exporting the pollution to another country isn't a viable solution to the problem.
When I was little we would make snow ice cream from the second snow.
No idea if it helped and would be skeptical of doing it now where I live.
Exactly, our insatiable consumerism in the west and globalism just shipped much of North American and European acid rain and other pollution making activities to Asia. Cleaner, more costly North American or European production got off loaded to less regulated, less costly Asia. I’m not clear why we always seem to congratulate ourselves about our great environmental policies all the time for this or that company that somehow goes carbon neutral when in fact 5 or 10 companies or contract manufacturers spring up in Asia to replace the ones here that got shuttered. Same air, same atmosphere. Semi-Localized, regional stuff like acid rain might improve in one area, but we’ve just passed it on to another.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Rockoe10
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#13

Post: # 45955Unread post Rockoe10
Sat May 01, 2021 4:25 pm

I may not be understanding the "credit" system properly, but isn't this how the emissions are reduced globally?

To use numbers:

-The world uses 100 units of emissions each
-The world wants to reduce emissions and says the world can produce only 80 units each
-Canada only produces 70 and sells credits to the US and China
-US and China use 85 units Each
-The world emissions are reduced to 80 units each

This continues by reducing the total allowed over many years. And some companies can do it faster, so they sell their credits to companies that can't convert as fast.

It's not perfect, but from what I understand it helps to reduce emissions world wide. And help those who have trouble converting quickly
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karstopography
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#14

Post: # 45961Unread post karstopography
Sat May 01, 2021 5:09 pm

https://www.c2es.org/content/international-emissions/

Numbers on CO2 emissions still going up if the link is to be believed, in spite of any “credit” system. Maybe in time, but the trend is still on the rise. Loopholes or something different at work. Not intending to turn this thread into something else, but to stop the rise in yearly CO2 gain, 414 ppm or whatever it is now, currently rising by 2-3 ppm/year, emissions would be have to be halved or less. That type of reduction is not even remotely in play without some ginormous reworked energy sourcing/consumption/production changes that would...whatever. So next year, it will be 416, the next 419, the next 421 or 422...if 400ppm is a problem, even if the gain slows, the number grows. The true math rarely seems to be discussed.

Honestly, I do feel or think most of what gets talked about or done by the powers that be is just feel good stuff or deliberately designed to obfuscate the truth. Not especially meaningful or material to say the least, just my opinion. Not that there aren’t people that don’t care, most I think do, it’s just super tricky to satisfy every valid demand and still get the number of CO2 to fall.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Rockoe10
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#15

Post: # 45978Unread post Rockoe10
Sun May 02, 2021 8:24 am

20 minutes from my house, a "Micro Nuclear Power Plant" was built. It's running, but not hooked up to the system yet. New lines were run through along Route 70. Impressive work, if nothing else. Definitely reduce emissions.

The waste product is of concern, but i recently read an article with some cool battery tech that uses the radioactive waste layered between diamond glass. Would give you 10s of Thousands of years of power without having to charge the battery. Pretty cool idea.
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Harry Cabluck
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#16

Post: # 46013Unread post Harry Cabluck
Sun May 02, 2021 1:54 pm

Sure do appreciate the pH of rainwater, compared to city water here...betcha the plants appreciate it, too. It takes 15 drops of buffering acid per gallon to bring city water to pH of 6.5.
Refrain from calculating the total number of poultry...before the process of incubation has fully materialized.

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worth1
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#17

Post: # 46040Unread post worth1
Sun May 02, 2021 7:26 pm

Harry Cabluck wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 1:54 pm Sure do appreciate the pH of rainwater, compared to city water here...betcha the plants appreciate it, too. It takes 15 drops of buffering acid per gallon to bring city water to pH of 6.5.
Yes the whole area is limestone and granite out farther west around Fredericksburg.
Worth
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You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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karstopography
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Re: What’s in Rainwater?

#18

Post: # 46044Unread post karstopography
Sun May 02, 2021 7:39 pm

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/wate ... er_objects

Sort of older map of rainwater ph across the USA. East, more acidic, west, less so. Rainwater even without human activity is acidic due to primarily CO2, carbonic acid formed from that naturally occuring atmospheric gas.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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