Mapping Decomposition: A Preliminary Study of Non-Destructive Detection of Simulated body Fluids in the Shallow Subsurface

Abstract

The processes of decomposition that the body will have after the time of death are peculiar and complex. The body swells and expels gases and fluids, and the flesh decays. It also attracts many insects and scavengers. We know that these fluids are nutrients for the vegetation, and if the body is inhumed in the subsurface, they allow a rapid crop growth that remote sensors can mark. During forensic investigations, mapping the fluid migration in the subsurface can help reconstruct the genesis of a clandestine grave. Several studies show how different remote sensors and analyses can be sensitive to human burials. This paper presents a preliminary experiment studying the fluid dispersion in the subsurface using simulated body fluids in a shallow grave and detecting it through the ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique (given its ability to detect dielectric constant changes in the investigated media) and other remote sensing techniques. Although the simulation of the body fluids related to the dielectric constant was accurate and allowed us to better understand how decomposition in the subsurface does not always migrate in the way that was initially expected (toward gravity), other typical characteristics of the body fluids, other soils and external factors were left out and would be studied in future simulations.

Influence of the sand-clay ratio of the burial material of forensic targets on ground-penetrating radar (GPR) responses–comparison of dry and rainy season data

“…The forensic application of GPR has demonstrated notable progress across diverse scientific domains. It has been incorporated into various lines of investigation, encompassing the decomposition of organic matter (Schultz et al, 2016;Ruffell et al, 2017;Schoor et al, 2017;Dick and Pringle, 2018;Pringle et al, 2020), the examination of submerged environments (Parker et al, 2010;Schultz et al, 2013), controlled sites (Barone et al, 2022;Pringle et al, 2020;Cavalcanti et al, 2018;Schoor et al, 2017;Booth and Pringle, 2016;Molina et al, 2016a;Pringle et al, 2016;Schultz et al, 2016;Almeida et al, 2015;Molina et al, 2015;Almeida et al, 2014;Lowe et al, 2013;González-Jorge et al, 2012;Pringle et al, 2020;Schultz and Martin, 2012;Solla et al, 2012;Schultz and Martin, 2011;Parker et al, 2010;Schultz, 2008;Schultz et al, 2006;Powell, 2004;Schultz et al, 2002), and its synergistic utilization in conjunction with complementary methodologies (Hansen and Pringle, 2013;Molina et al, 2016a;Aziz et al, 2016;Cavalcanti et al, 2018;Rubio-Melendi et al, 2018;Abate et al, 2019;Pringle et al, 2020).…”

Exploring the Growing Importance of Forensic Geoarchaeology in Italy

“…Within modern forensic science, there exists a substantial and significant role for forensic geoarchaeologists to fulfill [1,[7][8][9][10]. Their involvement might encompass suggesting potential locations for missing persons or clandestine graves to search and rescue teams, employing remote sensors and considering factors such as variations in vegetation growth [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Similarly, forensic geoarchaeology can involve the use of forensic geophysics such as penetrating radar to forensically investigate the subsoil, fresh water, and construction of walls in a non-destructive manner [10,14,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

“…Their involvement might encompass suggesting potential locations for missing persons or clandestine graves to search and rescue teams, employing remote sensors and considering factors such as variations in vegetation growth [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Similarly, forensic geoarchaeology can involve the use of forensic geophysics such as penetrating radar to forensically investigate the subsoil, fresh water, and construction of walls in a non-destructive manner [10,14,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. It can also help establish a connection between a suspect and a crime scene through the analysis of geological information at the crime scene [8,25,26].…”