Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze

Abstract Ancient bronze is subject to complex degradation which can lead, in cases where copper chlorides are present, to a cyclic and self-sustaining degradation process commonly referred to as “bronze disease”. If left untreated, bronze disease can eat away at a bronze object until it is entirely...

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Main Authors: Florence Liggins, Alessandra Vichi, Wei Liu, Alexander Hogg, Sotiria Kogou, Jianli Chen, Haida Liang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2022-09-01
Series:Heritage Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00765-8
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author Florence Liggins
Alessandra Vichi
Wei Liu
Alexander Hogg
Sotiria Kogou
Jianli Chen
Haida Liang
author_facet Florence Liggins
Alessandra Vichi
Wei Liu
Alexander Hogg
Sotiria Kogou
Jianli Chen
Haida Liang
author_sort Florence Liggins
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Ancient bronze is subject to complex degradation which can lead, in cases where copper chlorides are present, to a cyclic and self-sustaining degradation process commonly referred to as “bronze disease”. If left untreated, bronze disease can eat away at a bronze object until it is entirely deteriorated. The presence of copper trihydroxychlorides is indicative that this process is underway and therefore the detection of these corrosion products is necessary in guiding conservation of ancient bronze artefacts. In this paper we present a high spatial/spectral resolution short wave infrared (SWIR) imaging solution for mapping copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze, combining hyperspectral imaging with an in-house developed unsupervised machine learning algorithm for automated spectral clustering. For this work, verification was obtained through use of an in-house developed reference database of typical ancient bronze corrosion products from several archaeological sites, and from collections of the National Museum of China. This paper also explores the suitability, and limitations, of a visible to near-infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral imaging system as a more accessible solution for mapping copper trihydroxychlorides associated with bronze disease. We suggest that our hyperspectral imaging solution can provide a non-invasive, rapid, and high resolution material mapping within and across bronze objects, particularly beneficial for analysing large collections in a museum setting.
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spelling doaj.art-5edaea90de8246739162d1ff1b9056462022-12-22T01:44:42ZengSpringerOpenHeritage Science2050-74452022-09-0110111110.1186/s40494-022-00765-8Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronzeFlorence Liggins0Alessandra Vichi1Wei Liu2Alexander Hogg3Sotiria Kogou4Jianli Chen5Haida Liang6ISAAC Laboratory, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent UniversityISAAC Laboratory, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent UniversityThe National Museum of ChinaISAAC Laboratory, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent UniversityISAAC Laboratory, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent UniversitySchool of Archaeology and Museology, Peking UniversityISAAC Laboratory, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent UniversityAbstract Ancient bronze is subject to complex degradation which can lead, in cases where copper chlorides are present, to a cyclic and self-sustaining degradation process commonly referred to as “bronze disease”. If left untreated, bronze disease can eat away at a bronze object until it is entirely deteriorated. The presence of copper trihydroxychlorides is indicative that this process is underway and therefore the detection of these corrosion products is necessary in guiding conservation of ancient bronze artefacts. In this paper we present a high spatial/spectral resolution short wave infrared (SWIR) imaging solution for mapping copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze, combining hyperspectral imaging with an in-house developed unsupervised machine learning algorithm for automated spectral clustering. For this work, verification was obtained through use of an in-house developed reference database of typical ancient bronze corrosion products from several archaeological sites, and from collections of the National Museum of China. This paper also explores the suitability, and limitations, of a visible to near-infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral imaging system as a more accessible solution for mapping copper trihydroxychlorides associated with bronze disease. We suggest that our hyperspectral imaging solution can provide a non-invasive, rapid, and high resolution material mapping within and across bronze objects, particularly beneficial for analysing large collections in a museum setting.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00765-8Refectance imaging spectroscopyHyperspectral imagingBronze corrosionBronze diseaseAutomated material mapping
spellingShingle Florence Liggins
Alessandra Vichi
Wei Liu
Alexander Hogg
Sotiria Kogou
Jianli Chen
Haida Liang
Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze
Heritage Science
Refectance imaging spectroscopy
Hyperspectral imaging
Bronze corrosion
Bronze disease
Automated material mapping
title Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze
title_full Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze
title_fullStr Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze
title_full_unstemmed Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze
title_short Hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non-invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze
title_sort hyperspectral imaging solutions for the non invasive detection and automated mapping of copper trihydroxychlorides in ancient bronze
topic Refectance imaging spectroscopy
Hyperspectral imaging
Bronze corrosion
Bronze disease
Automated material mapping
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00765-8
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