Estuarine sediment quality assessment by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

Partial least squares Fourier-transform infrared (PLS-FTIR) models were developed for the quality assessment of estuarine sediments through the evaluation of several physico-chemical parameters. Models were based on the chemometric treatment of attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectra directly obtained from samples previously lyophilized and sieved through a lower than 63 μm grid. Spectra were scanned from 3997 to 523 cm-1, averaging 36 scans per spectrum with a nominal resolution of 8 cm-1. Models were built using reference data obtained for sediment samples collected from Ria de Arousa estuary. Hierarchical cluster classification of sediment ATR spectra was employed for the establishment…