Editing Acid rain (section)

===Surface waters and aquatic animals===
{{Further|Water pollution}}
[[File:Waterspecies.gif|thumb|Not all fish, shellfish, or the insects that they eat can tolerate the same amount of acid; for example, frogs can tolerate water that is more acidic (i.e., has a lower pH) than trout.]]
Sulfuric acid and nitric acid have multiple impacts on aquatic ecosystems, including acidification, increased nitrogen and aluminum content, and alteration of [[Biogeochemical cycle|biogeochemical processes]].<ref name="Lovett-2009">{{cite journal |display-authors=6 |vauthors=Lovett GM, Tear TH, Evers DC, Findlay SE, Cosby BJ, Dunscomb JK, Driscoll CT, Weathers KC |date=April 2009 |title=Effects of air pollution on ecosystems and biological diversity in the eastern United States |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |volume=1162 |issue=1 |pages=99–135 |bibcode=2009NYASA1162...99L |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04153.x |pmid=19432647 |s2cid=9368346}}</ref> Both the lower pH and higher aluminium concentrations in surface water that occur as a result of acid rain can cause damage to fish and other aquatic animals. At pH lower than 5 most fish eggs will not hatch and lower pH can kill adult fish. As lakes and rivers become more acidic, [[Biodiversity loss|biodiversity is reduced]]. Acid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish species, including the [[brook trout]] in some lakes, streams, and creeks in geographically sensitive areas, such as the Adirondack Mountains of the United States.<ref name="EPA">{{Cite web|title=Effects of Acid Rain – Surface Waters and Aquatic Animals|url=http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/surface_water.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514121649/http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/surface_water.html|archive-date=May 14, 2009|website=US EPA}}</ref>

However, the extent to which acid rain contributes directly or indirectly via runoff from the catchment to lake and river acidity (i.e., depending on characteristics of the surrounding watershed) is variable. The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) website states: "Of the lakes and streams surveyed, acid rain caused acidity in 75% of the acidic lakes and about 50% of the acidic streams".<ref name="EPA"/> Lakes hosted by silicate basement rocks are more acidic than lakes within limestone or other basement rocks with a carbonate composition (i.e. marble) due to buffering effects by carbonate minerals, even with the same amount of acid rain.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title=Mineral Resources, Economics and the Environment.|last=Kesler|first=Stephen|publisher=Cambridge University|year=2015|isbn=9781107074910}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}