Discrimination of the Weathering Degree of Speleothems Based on Hyperspectral Characteristics

Discrimination of the Weathering Degree of Speleothems Based on Hyperspectral Characteristics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Discrimination of the Weathering Degree of Speleothems Based on Hyperspectral Characteristics Hongzhi Zhang, Yong Wang, Yuqiao Qin, Kehua Wu, Deyuan Wang, Shiqin Luo This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8665808/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Accurate and non-destructive identification of the weathering degree of speleothems in tourist caves holds critical implications for establishing scientific conservation criteria. To address the limitations inherent in conventional rock weathering classification systems, this study employs hyperspectral data acquired from speleothems exhibiting varying weathering intensities. A random forest algorithm was utilized to identify diagnostically significant spectral features, which were subsequently leveraged to construct a decision tree model. The model's performance was rigorously evaluated using metrics including the F1-score and the Area Under the Curve (AUC). The results demonstrate that: (1) lichen colonization does not markedly alter the overall spectral profile of speleothems but leads to a concentration of the wavelength at the absorption trough minimum; (2) among eight spectral features analyzed, the combination of \(\:{Q}_{SAI}\),\(\:{\lambda\:}_{1}\), and \(\:{\lambda\:}_{m}\) exhibits the highest discriminative capacity; (3) the decision tree model developed based on this feature combination effectively classifies speleothems according to their weathering degree. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for advancing the weathering classification of speleothems. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 29 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 26 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 27 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 22 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8665808","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":582114242,"identity":"51b51585-a019-408e-96cd-13d4f5969ed1","order_by":0,"name":"Hongzhi Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Mountain Resource of Guizhou Province","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hongzhi","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":582114246,"identity":"a2377b6c-90ad-4821-8304-21448b9c37d0","order_by":1,"name":"Yong Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Mountain Resource of Guizhou 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