Instrumental color determination of local soils and its variation with elemental profiles

IF 2.6 3区医学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL

Forensic Chemistry Pub Date : 2025-01-27 DOI:10.1016/j.forc.2025.100644

Melissa Liau, Jolene Low, Kang Hua Lee, Thiam Bon Lim

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Forensic soil comparison typically relies on qualitative color description through visual observation and side-by-side comparison with standard color chips from the Munsell Soil Color Charts to determine a color notation. Soil color distinctions are then made according to the US National Soil Survey color contrast classes. However, this approach is inherently subjective due to the variations in human examiner’s color perception, which is further influenced by factors such as light intensity, viewing angle, and background contrast. Conversely, color-measuring instruments like spectrophotometers can detect subtle color variations reliably and with greater precision, including colors falling between the chips in Munsell Soil Color Charts. Color differences between a soil pair can be expressed numerically as

Δ E_{00}

and a threshold based on

Δ E_{00}

to distinguish soil colors can be established for objective color comparison. In this study, the colors of soils collected from Singapore parks (soils sampled from areas within 1 m, within the same park, and across different parks) were measured quantitatively using a spectrophotometer. The occurrences of false positives and negatives were calculated and evaluated for the visual and instrumental color comparison methods. We further investigated correlations between the color discrimination threshold based on

Δ E_{00}

and a previous survey conducted on local soil’s elemental variability. The outcome of this study will help streamline soil analysis workflows in laboratories and strengthen the interpretation of forensic comparison of local soils.

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来源期刊

Forensic Chemistry CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL-

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

14.80%

发文量

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Forensic Chemistry publishes high quality manuscripts focusing on the theory, research and application of any chemical science to forensic analysis. The scope of the journal includes fundamental advancements that result in a better understanding of the evidentiary significance derived from the physical and chemical analysis of materials. The scope of Forensic Chemistry will also include the application and or development of any molecular and atomic spectrochemical technique, electrochemical techniques, sensors, surface characterization techniques, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, chemometrics and statistics, and separation sciences (e.g. chromatography) that provide insight into the forensic analysis of materials. Evidential topics of interest to the journal include, but are not limited to, fingerprint analysis, drug analysis, ignitable liquid residue analysis, explosives detection and analysis, the characterization and comparison of trace evidence (glass, fibers, paints and polymers, tapes, soils and other materials), ink and paper analysis, gunshot residue analysis, synthetic pathways for drugs, toxicology and the analysis and chemistry associated with the components of fingermarks. The journal is particularly interested in receiving manuscripts that report advances in the forensic interpretation of chemical evidence. Technology Readiness Level: When submitting an article to Forensic Chemistry, all authors will be asked to self-assign a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to their article. The purpose of the TRL system is to help readers understand the level of maturity of an idea or method, to help track the evolution of readiness of a given technique or method, and to help filter published articles by the expected ease of implementation in an operation setting within a crime lab.