Acid volatile sulfide (AVS)

Although AVS may have served its purpose in the earlier exploratory days of the study of sedimentary sulfides, the concept is now probably more of a hindrance than a help in advancing this field. It is reasonable to question if it is not time to simply do away with the AVS concept altogether and get on with the business of trying to deal more directly with the behavior of the more important components known to fall within the group of sulfide species that contribute to sulfide that is volatilized when acid is added to a sediment.