Fiona a is h £t Jo Tomlinson

T rack 17
Debbie: 
Hi, Roger.
Roger: 
Debbie! Hi. How are you?
Debbie: 
Oh ... I’ve been s tru g g lin g w ith my N a tu ra l Earth assignm ent. It’s proving to be really d iffic u lt.
Roger: 
The one fo r P rofessor Black? Me too. I’m w ritin g about volcanic activity. What are you doing yours on?
Debbie: 
Acid rain. I th ou gh t th a t w ould be OK, but the process is really com plicated.
Roger: 
W ell, I can help you w ith it! I know a lot about acid rain. I studied the causes and effects last year.
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Debbie: 
Really? T hat’s g r e a t... I’ve done some w ork on the causes. I'm going to w rite th at acid rain is caused 
by su lp h u r dioxide from power plants and s m e lte rs . Basically, th is reacts in the atm osphere to form
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Track 18
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acid ra in .
Ah. but it ’s not just su lp h u r dioxide, it's also nitrogen oxides.
Really?
Yes, from things like car exhausts.
But a re n't nitrogen oxides also caused by n atu ra l events, too?
Yes. They're a m in o r factor, but I th in k they're w orth m entioning. But, sorry, carry on ...
Thanks. I m ight add that. So anyway, these em issions react in the atm osphere w ith w ater, oxygen and 
oxidants to form acidic compounds like su lp h u ric acid. These com pounds then fa ll to earth.
Are you going to m ention the different ways they return to the ground?
Do you mean wet and dry deposition?
Yes! So you've done a bit of background reading, then?
Yes ... so if I've got it right, acid rain often comes down as rain, but also as snow or fog. This is wet 
deposition. I'm also going to define it as any form of precipitation that removes acids from the atmosphere. 
Yes, I th in k that's a good te rm to define it.
Dry deposition, ... Well, I th in k that's when the p olluta nts stick to the ground through d u st. I'm not 
really sure how to define it, though, compared to w et deposition.
Just th in k of it as any p olluta nts that are not caused through precipitation. T hat’s probably the best 
way. Did you know that su n lig h t can enhance the effects of acid rain as w ell?
No, I did n ’t. There's so much to th in k about. I'm sure I'll go over my word lim it.
Well, you sound like you know a lot about the subject. Just try and keep your focus. I've had the same 
problem w ritin g about volcanoes! There's ju s t so much!
Do you w ant to make a s ta rt on our N atural Earth project? I th in k o ur idea of a lightning safety 
presentation is great, don't you, Rachel?
Yes, I th in k it 'll be really good ... I have a few ideas already.
Great! Me too. I th in k we should divide it into two parts: w hat to do if you're inside when lightning 
strikes, and w hat to do if you're outside. What do you think?
T hat’s good, but we need more. Som ething about planning fo r th is kind of event. And also, w hat to do 
if someone gets hit by lightning.
I can’t believe I forgot that! Of course! Well, w hat should we ta lk about in the firs t part?
I th in k we should say it’s im p orta nt to be aware. Lightning is always before rain, so don't w ait u n til it 
rains. As soon as you hear th un de r or lightning you should get insid e .
OK, yes. And then if you're indoors, you should avoid water. Stay away from doors and windows, and 
d on't use the telephone.
Or any e le ctrica l eguipm ent. In fact, if you can, sw itch it off fir s t. And you should w ait half an hour 
a fte r the last clap of th un de r before going back outside.
And if you're outside when it storm s, you also need to avoid water. Try and get inside as soon as 
possible. There are certain things you should avoid ... open spaces ... anything large and made of 
m etal. And of course the obvious one: trees.
But we should m ention that if lightning strikes very near you, you need to crouch dow n.
Oh! Is that right? I thought you had to stand s till.
No, that's actually wrong - you're supposed to crouch down ...
... and put your hands over your ears. The noise can damage your hearing if you don't. OK ... I th in k
w e ’ve got quite a lot here. Only the last part to go. Now: w hat to do if someone gets hit.
I th in k we should say that it ’s very rare fo r someone to get hit by ligh tnin g. Our ta lk sounds as if 
th e re ’s danger a ll around! We should try and make it sound a bit more reassuring!
Yes, you’re rig h t - w e’ll say it doesn’t happen often. It’s ju s t b e tte r to be safe than sorry. But w hat 
should we say about getting hit by lightning?
Well, I th in k we should say it ’s safe to touch people w ho ’ve been h it by lightning ... they don’t have any 
e le ctrica l charge! If th e re ’s a firs t a ider around, then they should help th e m . Otherwise it ’s ju s t best