Spectroscopy as a Non-Destructive Method to Study Terrestrial Dust Particles: Case Study from United Arab Emirates

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of physical and chemical sand characteristics, such as moisture content, organic content, and magnetic content on spectral signals using spectro-radiometer and Hyper-spectral camera. JMP Pro software is used to determine the correlation between moisture content percentage, organic content percentage, magnetic content percentage and reflection percentage. All samples have a fine sand texture with a pH ranging from 7.76 to 8.88 and electrical conductivity varies between 900.1 mu S to 1539 mu S. Results show that organic content ranges from 0.501% to 4.094%, moisture content has a range from 0% to 1.219%, and magnetic varies between 1.062% and 2.907%. Heavy metals (Ba, Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) are detected in all samples with lower concentration than the maximum limit sit by U.S Environmental Protection Agency. X-ray diffraction shows that all samples contain quartz and graphite.