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Old 08-11-2014, 09:16 PM   #24 (permalink)
jamesqf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RustyLugNut View Post
NOx dissolves in precipitation (mist and rain) as nitric acid. What mechanism transforms this nitric acid into fertilizer?
Reaction with soil chemicals to produce nitrates. It's basically the same way in which NOx created by lightning is converted to nitrates. And unless you happen to be a legume hosting a bunch of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, that's where the nitrogen needed for growth ultimately comes from. (Yes, that's over-simplified, 'cause a lot of the available nitrogen gets recycled in animal droppings &c.)

As for ocean acidification, that's almost entirely caused by increased atmospheric CO2, which dissolves in seawater to produce carbonic acid: Ocean acidification - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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