Characterization of clay minerals and Fe oxides through diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VNIR-SWIR)

Abstract

The mineralogical analysis was carried out through the spectral properties developed by samples of soils and sediments from the northwestern edge of the Duero Basin. The absorptions produced by the oxides and Feoxyhydroxides (mainly hematite and goethite) are located in VNIR zones (400-1200 nm), while the absorption bands that are present in the SWIR spectra (1200-2500 nm) are related to the chemical composition of clay minerals. The reflectance spectra measured in the laboratory have been normalized by using the methods of Continuum Removal (CR) and the second derivative (SD). This last method can solve the band overlapping because it quantifies subtle drops in the curve. This has allowed the absorption bands to be examined separately by measurement of their geometrical parameters. The proportion of the minerals affects the spectral response and, accordingly, the values of the parameters. Linear correlations were conducted between these values and the proportion of the different mineral phases obtained by X-ray diffraction. In the studied parameters, the correlation between the band center (BC) position in the maximum absorption around the wavelengths at 890-960 nm and the absorption feature depth at 470 nm (D470) has enabled a relative estimation of the proportion of hematite/goethite. As for the distribution of the different clay minerals, a correlation has been established between the proportion of kaolinite and the absorption bands depth at 1415 and 2210 nm, and in the absorption features near 1390 and 2160 nm, analyzed in SD.