Acid sulfate soils (ASS) are naturally occurring soil materials formed
under anaerobic conditions, which either contain sulfuric acid or have
the potential to form it, in an amount that can have significant impacts
on other soil characteristics (Dent and Pons, 1995). Many ASS originated
when the sea level rose and inundated the land with sulfate from seawater mixed with iron oxides in the sediments, allowing microorganisms
to form iron sulfides (pyrite, FeS2) under anaerobic conditions according
to Eq.