Hyperspectral Soil Dispersion Model for the Source Region of the Zhouqu Debris Flow, Gansu, China

A new hyperspectral soil dispersion model was established by using multivariable linear regression based on experimentally derived soil dispersion data and hyperspectral field spectra of soil components. The coefficient of determination for the model is 0.8084, which shows that the model effectively reproduced soil dispersion. Those bands that were relevant to soil dispersion included 370, 377, 398, 410, 570, 1918, 1933, 2392, 2401, 2444, and 2448 nm, which identified soil components and their adsorbed ions. The correlation between soil spectral bands and soil components indicates that calcite and clay minerals were the main factors that caused soil to be dispersive because they are easily dissolved in water. This result provides a scientific basis for countering soil dispersion and reducing the occurrence of debris flows. The spectral bands determined by this model may also be relevant to air- or satellite-borne hyperspectral remote sensing in the future.