Field portable spectrometers are widely used for geologic remote sensing and mineral analysis applications. Recently, geologists have recognized that these same methods of reflectance spectroscopy have far reaching applications beyond remote sensing. Increasingly more applications in the geological science disciplines are surfacing, such as determining the composition of clay-rich soils for swell potential, and assessment and monitoring quality in cement manufacturing throughout the entire process—from characterizing raw materials, to quantitative analysis of the ground cement product, on through quality control of the materials entering the "feeder" and molten clinker (the apparatus used in the final cement product).

The World Agroforestry Centre, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, has produced a remarkable set of breakthroughs in tools for rapid large area assessment of soil quality and organic resource quality using the FieldSpec^® Vis/NIR full-range spectrometer (Shepherd & Walsh, 2002). The coupling of this technology with remote sensing data, georeferenced ground survey and new spatial statistical methods has resulted in vastly improved capability for large area soil assessments.

The characteristics of soil spectra are controlled by mineral composition, organic matter, water (hydration, hygroscopic, and free pore water), iron form and amount, salinity, and particle size distribution. These attributes of soil basically determine their capacity to perform production and environmental functions. Calibration techniques, based on new pattern recognition algorithms, have been developed so that multiple soil attributes can be assessed from this single measurement (Shepherd & Walsh, 2002).

Soil functional attributes such as aggregate stability, soil infiltration rate, and soil respiration rate can also be related to soil reflectance in a number of studies. Our LabSpec® 2500/2600 Portable Vis/NIR Spectrometer, with it's broad wavelength coverage, is the ideal tool for analysis of soils.