A Method to Evaluate Spectral Analysis by Spectroscopy.

Area of Science:

• Geochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Visible and near-infrared spectroscopy is commonly used for rapid soil organic carbon (SOC) determination.
• Existing research focuses on spectral model development, often overlooking method evaluation metrics like detection range, resolution, and error.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel method for evaluating the spectral analysis of soil organic carbon (SOC).
• To assess the performance of different spectrometers in SOC spectral analysis using defined technical parameters.

Main Methods:

• Collected spectral reflectance data from 96 sediment samples using three spectrometers: Agilent Cary 5000, ASD FieldSpec 4, and Ocean Optics QEPro.
• Established three spectral models for SOC prediction.
• Developed evaluation parameters: detection range, detection resolution, and detection error, based on predicted SOC concentration distribution curves.

Main Results:

• Technical parameters for SOC spectral analysis were superior in the bench-top spectrometer (Cary 5000) compared to portable units.
• The Ocean Optics QEPro demonstrated a broader detection range and more consistent detection error than the ASD FieldSpec 4.
• The low-cost QEPro showed comparable performance to the high-cost FieldSpec 4 for SOC spectral analysis.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method effectively evaluates spectral analysis for SOC determination.
• Spectrometer type significantly impacts the reliability of SOC spectral analysis parameters.
• This evaluation framework supports the advancement of spectroscopic methods for soil and sediment analysis.