Theoretical Principles and Perspectives of Hyperspectral Imaging Applied to Sediment Core Analysis

Hyperspectral imaging is a recent technology that has been gaining popularity in the geosciences since the 1990s, both in remote sensing and in the field or laboratory. Indeed, it allows the rapid acquisition of a large amount of data that are spatialized on the studied object with a low-cost, compact, and automatable sensor. This practical article aims to present the current state of knowledge on the use of hyperspectral imaging for sediment core analysis (core logging). To use the full potential of this type of sensor, many points must be considered and will be discussed to obtain reliable and quality data to extract many environmental properties of sediment cores. Hyperspectral imaging is used in many fields (e.g., remote sensing, geosciences and artificial intelligence) and offers many possibilities. The applications of the literature will be reviewed under five themes: lake and water body trophic status, source-to-sink approaches, organic matter and mineralogy studies, and sedimentary deposit characterization. Afterward, discussions will be focused on a multisensor core logger, data management, integrated use of these data for the selection of sample areas, and other opportunities. Through this practical article, we emphasize that hyperspectral imaging applied to sediment cores is still an emerging tool and shows many possibilities for refining the understanding of environmental processes.