Image Descriptions

Salic Sulfidic Hydrosol soil profile at Gutheries in the Tungkillo district of the central Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. 1989.

Typical landscape showing a sulfidic salt-affected and eroded scald in the Tungkillo district of the central Mount Lofty Ranges, SA.

Petrocalcic, Sulfidic, Hypersalic Hydrosol soil profile in the Cooke Plains district of South Australia, showing a highly calcareous calcrete with a saline water table at shallow depth.  The soil has a thin sulfidic A1 horizon with salt efflorescences (halite and gypsum). 1991.

Typical landscape showing cleared saline grazing land between sand dunes on the Cooke Plains, south-eastern SA.

Sulfidic, Hypersalic Hydrosol soil profile, showing a thin sulfidic A1 horizon with salt efflorescences (halite and gypsum) overlying a gleyed clay with a saline water table at shallow depth in the Woorndoo district of Victoria.  1996.

Typical landscape showing saline lake between sand dunes in the Woorndoo district of Victoria.

Natric, Sulfidic, Redoxic Hydrosol soil profile near Mt Torrens, South Australia. A permanently wet, mottled sulfidic subsoil that is strongly sodic in the the major part of the B2 horizon. 2002.

Typical landscape showing eroded stream banks and valley flats (exposed black sulfidic material can be observed in banks of eroded gullies) in the upper Dairy Creek catchment near Mt Torrens, southern Mount Lofty Ranges, SA.

Natric, Sulfidic, Redoxic Hydrosol soil profile near Strathalbyn, South Australia. A seasonally wet, black mottled sulfidic subsoil that is strongly sodic in the major part of the soil profile. 2002.

Typical landscape showing eroded stream banks and valley flats in the upper Rodwell Creek catchment near Strathalbyn, southern Mount Lofty Ranges, SA.

Acidic, Sulfuric, Salic, Hydrosol.  A seasonally wet, mottled yellow (natrojarosite) sulfuric material in the major part of the B2 horizon with abundant greenish-white salt efflorescences overlying black sulfidic material.  Reddish coloured iron precipitates and white aluminium-rich gels can often be observed at the edge steam waters below the eroded acidic stream banks.

Soil type occurs in the eroded stream banks when the black sulfidic material is exposed by stream bank erosion in the upper Dairy creek catchment near Mt Torrens, southern Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, showing:

(A) Sulfuric material (pH 2.5-3.5) exposed in stream bank by water erosion in upper Dairy Creek with sideronatrite

(B) White gelatinous precipitate is Al-rich and preferentially forms in sandy areas (pH 4.5),

(C) Reddish-yellow gelatinous precipitate is dominantly schwertmannite and preferentially forms in clay-rich areas (pH <4).  (From Fitzpatrick and Shand 2008)

Reference: Fitzpatrick RW & Shand P (2008) Inland Acid Sulfate Soils: Overview and conceptual models. pp. 6–73. In Fitzpatrick, R.W. & Shand, P. (Eds.). Inland Acid Sulfate Soil Systems Across Australia. CRC LEME Open File Report No. 249 (Thematic Volume) CRC LEME, Perth, Australia.

Natric, Sulfidic, Salic, Hydrosol soil profile near Gillman, South Australia. A permanently wet, black mottled clayey sulfidic subsoil showing old mangrove roots, that is strongly sodic and saline in the major part of the lighter surface horizons. 2001.

Typical landscape showing the bunded Gillman area near Port Adelaide, SA. Bunds were constructed across mangrove swamps in the 1950's to cut off tidal flushing. (Brett Thomas).

Bleached-sodic, Sulfuric, Hypersalic, Hydrosol soil profile near Gillman, South Australia.  A seasonally wet, mottled yellow (jarosite-rich) sulfuric material in the major part of the B2 horizon with abundant white salt efflorescences overlying black sulfidic material. Bleached surface layers occur with gypsum and shell materials. 2002.

Typical landscape showing the bunded Gillman area near Port Adelaide, South Australia. Bunds were constructed across mangrove swamps in the 1950's to cut off tidal flushing.

Sapric, Histic-Sulfidic, Intertidal, Hydrosol soil profile near St Kilda, South Australia. A sandy soil that is inundated daily by tidal waters and virtually permanently saturated with saline water. The profile has a thin layer (2 -4 cm) of monosulfidic black ooze on the surface overlain by sulfidic material with live mangrove roots. 2000.

Typical landscape showing tidal mudflats and a low forest of mangroves with their exposed pneumatophores at the St Kilda mangrove walk north of Adelaide, SA.

Hemic, Histic-Sulfidic, Supratidal, Hydrosol soil profile sampled by spade at St Kilda, South Australia. A sandy soil that is infrequently inundated by tidal waters and partly saturated with saline water. 2000.

Typical landscape showing supratidal reddish samphire flats at the St Kilda mangrove walk north of Adelaide, SA.

Sulfuric, Extratidal, Hydrosol soil profile showing bright yellow coloured jarosite-rich mottles in sulfuric material between 35 cm and 45 cm overlying the darker sulfidic material at East Trinity near Cairns, north Queensland. 1995.

Typical landscape at East Trinity, adjacent to Cairns City within the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which was a tropical estuarine wetland but was drained for sugar cane production some 20 years ago by the construction of a bund wall and tidal floodgates. Acidification and the production of acid leachates (red and yellow iron precipitates), have severely degraded the land and streams within the drained area.

Sulfuric, Spolic, Anthroposol (Magnesic, Sulfuric, Redoxic, Hydrosol) soil profile showing surface precipitates of reddish-yellow iron oxide in sulfuric material overlying bleached and mottled horizons with sulfidic material formed in fine sediment from the base of batters of waste-rock at Ranger Uranium Mine near Jabiru, Northern Territory. 1991.

Typical flat landscape (background) surrounding the Ranger Uranium Mine near Jabiru, Northern Territory taken from the top of a waste rock dump (foreground). At the base of the batter of the waste-rock dump water levels are high and retention ponds are constructed.

Sulfuric, Lithosolic, Spolic, Anthroposol soil profile showing thin acidic surface precipitates of yellow iron oxides formed from oxidation of primary pyrite in coal spoil on the batters of waste-rock at Saraji colliery in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. 1993.

Typical constructed waste-rock dumps at Saraji colliery in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. 1993.

Rudosolic, Spolic, Anthroposol soil profile showing mixture of fragments of coal spoil and sodic clay on the vegetated batters of waste-rock at Saraji colliery in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. 1993.

Typical rehabilitated and vegetated constructed waste-rock dump at Saraji colliery in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. 1993.

Post Acid Sulfate Soil. Eutrophic, Mottled-Hypernatic, Grey, Sodosol soil profile that has developed strongly sodic properties because the original seasonally wet saline acid sulfate soil with sulfidic material was drained in the Marcollat district in the South East of South Australia. 2002.

Typical landscape with drains in the Marcollat district in the South East of South Australia. 2002.

Sulfuric Clay at Jury swamp showing cracking and salt efflorescences  after extreme drying in 2009.

Fitzpatrick RW, Shand P, Grealish G, Thomas M, McClure S, Merry RH, Raven R & Baker A (2010e).  Acid Sulfate Soil investigations of vertical and lateral changes with time in five managed wetlands between Lock 1 and Wellington. CSIRO Land and Water Science Report, 03/10. 189 pp.

Sulfuric Clay at Jury swamp showing cracking after extreme drying in 2008.

Fitzpatrick RW & Shand P (2008) Inland Acid Sulfate Soils: Overview and conceptual models. pp. 6–73. In Fitzpatrick, R.W. & Shand, P. (Eds.). Inland Acid Sulfate Soil Systems Across Australia. CRC LEME Open File Report No. 249 (Thematic Volume) CRC LEME, Perth, Australia.

Monosulfidic material exposed on the surface in the shallow back swamp/wetlands located in Paiwalla wetland adjacent to the River Murray.

Acid Sulfate Soil with sulfuric material in drained wetlands adjacent to the River Murray, which shows extensive cracking and accumulation of scale-like, bright golden yellow crystals of metavoltine [K2Na6Fe2+Fe3+6 (SO4)12O2 18H2O] and white crystals of alunogen [Al2(SO4)3 17H2O], which have formed as a result of aqueous, acidic (pH < 2.5), sulfate bearing solutions that have percolated through the soil and attacked existing iron sulfides and layer silicates exposed in the cracks. 

These localised solutions were rich in ferrous and ferric iron and also contained leached potassium and sodium. Metavoltine and alunogen are presumed to be the last minerals to form. The sulfuric material, which also contains natrojarosite, hexahydrite and gypsum developed after drainage because watertable levels had dropped below 40 cm in June 2007 and below 90 cm in November 2007 - due to the severe drought conditions - exposing large sections of riverbank and wetlands that once contained high levels of un-oxidized iron sulfides (pyrite).  From Fitzpatrick et al. 2008).

Fitzpatrick, RW, P. Shand, M. Thomas, R.H. Merry, M.D. Raven, S.L Simpson (2008) Acid sulfate soils in subaqueous, waterlogged and drained soil environments of nine wetlands below Blanchetown (Lock 1), South Australia: properties, genesis, risks and management. Prepared for South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board. CSIRO Land and Water Science Report 42/08. CSIRO, Adelaide, 122. pp.

Sulfuric Soil with yellowish-red (orange) gelatinous precipitate and “oil-like slick” with prominent iridescence on water surface formed by oxidation from iron oxidising bacteria (probably Gallionella and/or Leptothrix) exposed on the edge of a shallow saline swamp/wetland in  Burnt Creek near Dunolly, Victoria (pH < 2.5 – 3.5). Dominantly sideronatrite [Na2Fe(SO4)2.OH.3H2O] with schwertmannite (pH 3.5 – 4.0). identified by X-ray diffraction.

Thomas BP, Merry RH Creeper NL, Fitzpatrick RW, Shand P, Raven MD & Jayalath N (2009) Acid Sulfate Soil Assessment of the Lower Loddon River and Burnt Creek, Central Victoria. CSIRO Land & Water Science Report CLW 18/09.