Use of Field Spectroradiometry in Detecting Lead-Contaminated Soil: a case study from Wales

摘要

Lead-contaminated soil (LCS) can cause a serious threat to human health, safety of the agricultural products and affects adversely our environment. Assessing the level of lead in a contaminated soil is necessary in order to prioritize soil remediation and public health efforts. This requires a rapid understanding of the contamination risk as well as the feasible estimation methods. Recently, technological advances in hyperspectral remote sensing have been widely incorporated into heavy-metal soil contamination studies, as they are able to provide such estimates in a rapid and cost-effective way. The present work aimed at investigating the potential of field spectroradiometry in detecting LCS surfaces and in quantifying the level of Pb contamination in the soil, using as a case study a site in West Wales of the United Kingdom. The main objective has been to perform a spectral discrimination analysis of the reflectance spectra collected with the spectroradiometer and to statistically identify the specific wavelengths/spectral-regions associated to the LCS detection using both parametric and non-parametric methods. This study implications can be significant on a variety of scales in practical applications including the mitigation and phytoremediation of LCS risk problem in Wales. Furthermore, it contributes towards the development of more accurate LCS monitoring-models exploiting hyperspectral imaging technology.