Rapid determination of total organic carbon concentration in marine sediments using Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIRS)

Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) together with partial least squares regression was used to produce calibrations between spectra and concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) in marine sediments collected from widely varying depositional settings. Samples from ODP 664 (oxic Quaternary, low TOC, deep sea ooze) and ODP 959 (anoxic Cretaceous black shale) were analysed using standard instrumental techniques and with FT-NIRS. Unknown TOC concentrations in samples were then predicted using spectra and calibration equations, resulting in higher resolution data without additional time consuming and expensive traditional analyses. Good correlations were achieved between measured and FT-NIRS predicted concentrations (r2 > 0.8), providing evidence that FT-NIRS has a promising potential for the rapid and accurate determination of TOC in a wide variety of sediment types.