Sulfur dioxide is a noticeable component in the atmosphere, especially following volcanic eruptions. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of sulfur dioxide released in the U.S. per year was: Sulfur dioxide is a major air pollutant and has significant impacts upon human health. In addition, the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere can influence the habitat suitability for plant communities, as well as animal life. Sulfur dioxide emissions are a precursor to acid rain and atmospheric particulates. Due largely to the US EPA’s Acid Rain Program, the U.S. has had a 33% decrease in emissions between 1983
Lower sulfur oxides Lower sulfur oxides The lower sulfur oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with the formula SO, where m < 2n. These species are often unstable and thus rarely encountered in everyday life. They are significant intermediates in the combustion of elemental sulfur. Some well characterized examples include sulfur monoxide (SO), its dimer SO, and a series of cyclic sulfur oxides, SOx (x = 1, 2), based on cyclic S rings. Interest in the lower sulfur oxides has increased because of the need to understand terrestrial atmospheric sulfur pollution and the finding that the extraterrestrial atmospheres of Io, one of