Application Model of Hyperspectral Technology Based on Novel Spectral Indices for Salinity Assessment in Soil Heritage Sites

Abstract. The Dunhuang murals are a precious treasure of China's cultural heritage, yet they have long been affected by salt damage. Traditional methods for detecting salt content are costly, inefficient, and may cause physical harm to the murals. Among current techniques for measuring salt content in murals, hyperspectral remote sensing technology offers a non-invasive , circumventing issues of high costs, low efficiency. Building on this, our study developed a high-spectral feature inversion model for mural phosphate content using Fractional Order Differentiation (FOD), a novel three-band spectral index, and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) algorithm. The specific research contents include: 1) Exploring the absorption mechanism of phosphates and their characteristic bands, combined with the optimal spectral index to construct a univariate linear regression model, providing a basis for rapid quantitative measurement of mural phosphate content. 2) By comparing the accuracy of the PSR and PNDI spectral indices based on the linear regression model, the first six orders of the highest accuracy spectral index were selected as the optimal three-band spectral index combination, used as explanatory variables, with mural plaster electrical conductivity as the response variable, employing the PLSR method to construct the mural phosphate content high-spectral feature inversion model. The study's findings include: 1) By comparing the outcomes of different orders of fractional differentiation, it was found that the model performance reached its optimum at a 0.3 order of differentiation for both PSR and PNDI data, with a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.728. 2) Utilizing PLSR, this study employed the previously determined optimal six-order three-band spectral index combination as explanatory variables, with salt content as the response variable, successfully constructing the high-spectral feature inversion model for mural phosphate content with a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.815. This provides an effective technical means for monitoring the salt damage conditions of precious cultural heritage such as murals.