Evaluation of a curve-fitting method for diffuse reflectance spectra in the UV–Visible–NIR wavelength region

The Modified Gaussian Method (MGM) proposed by Sunshine et al. [Sunshine, J.M., Pieters, C.M., Pratt, S.F., 1990. Deconvolution of mineral absorption bands: an improved approach. Journal of Geophysical Research 95, 6955–6966.] is generally used to decompose spectra in the UV–Visible–NIR wavelength region into the characteristic absorption bands of minerals. Here, we compare the optimized results obtained using different curve-fitting methods for this spectrum. The result obtained using the Gaussian function for the absorption band shows a better fit than that obtained using the Lorentzian function. The background continuum of a quadratic polynomial for the wavenumber provides a better result than does the linear function for the wavenumber. We successfully decomposed the spectra of ordinary chondrites and eucrites into the absorption bands of olivine and pyroxene. The wavelength positions of these absorption bands are broadly consistent with the Fe contents of olivine and pyroxene. Although the present results are derived from a limited number of spectra, they are of use in terms of the decomposition of diffuse reflectance spectra.