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. AgriSpec®, with it's broad wavelength coverage and true field portability, is the ideal tool for analysis of soils.

Examples of soil analysis can be found in the links below.

Field Reflectance Spectrometry for Detection of Swelling Clays at Construction Sites

In Situ Characterization of Soil Clay Content with Visible Near-Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

Detection of Carbon Stock Change in Agricultural Soils Using Spectroscopic Techniques

Select the links below for additional information on ASD's line of FieldSpec® spectroradiometers and LabSpec® and AgriSpec® spectrometers for rapid precision characterization and analysis of soil properties.