Word: sulfurous
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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There is no doubt that coal-burning power plants account for about 70 percent of the 24 tons of sulfur dioxide dumped into the air of the Midwest and Northeast each year. There is no doubt that this sulfur dioxide is carried hundreds of miles away, with a final resting place somewhere in northeastern North America. And there is no doubt that acid rain has engendered an international--and international--debate marked by some appropriately acerbic rhetoric...
Analyzing data from Pioneer's ultraviolet spectrometer, the University of Colorado's Larry Esposito found that 1978 sulfur dioxide levels in the Venusian atmosphere were 50 times as high as expected. Since then, the sulfur dioxide lev els have been slowly tapering off, just as they drop after a major volcanic eruption on earth. Another investigator, Fred Scarf of TRW Inc., the spacecraft's builders, disclosed that an on-board instrument called a plasma-wave detector had recorded repeated lightning discharges over two mountain regions. On earth, such electrical activity commonly accompanies volcanic outbursts...
...researchers are elated about their long-distance snooping, but not simply for scholarly reasons. They note that a planet like Venus provides a real-life laboratory for understanding such essential questions as global weather patterns and the spread of acid rain, whose most corrosive ingredient is sulfur dioxide. Venus is also valuable for studying the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which increases global temperatures. Says the U.S. Geological Survey's Harold Masursky of the latest Venus findings: "These are not just nice things to know. They may be vital to our survival...
...markets, Villa Banfi is developing wines that are more upscale than Riunite. Directing that effort is Chief Oenologist Ezio Rivella, 50, the first Italian ever elected to head the Union Internationale des Oenologues in Paris. Rivella has helped develop new wine-production techniques that do not require additives like sulfur dioxide and allow white wine to be shipped abroad without alteration of its taste or color...
...West German industries burn 3.5 million tons of coal a year, leading to heavy discharges of sulfur dioxide.) According to Professor Bernhard Ulrich, an expert on soil science at the University of Gottingen, acidic downpours can leach key nutrients, such as calcium and potassium, from the soil, or deposit toxic metals like aluminum. Acid rain might also prevent microorganisms in the soil from converting organic debris into fertilizer. Professor Peter Schiitt of the University of Munich believes that dry, airborne particles of metal are the culprits, along with acid rain. Says he: "What is shocking is that whole areas...