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Journals
Forensic Sciences
Special Issues
Forensic Geoscience and Death Investigations
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Forensic Geoscience and Death Investigations

A special issue of Forensic Sciences (ISSN 2673-6756).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 December 2022) | Viewed by 15243

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rosa Maria Di Maggio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Geoscienze Forensi Italia®- Frensic Geoscience Italy, Rome, Italy
Interests: forensic geology; forensic pedology; forensic geoscience; forensic geomorphology; remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alastair Ruffell

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of the Natural Built Environment, Queen’s University, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK
Interests: archaeological prospections; geoarchaeology; cultural heritage diagnostics; remote sensing; GIS; geoscience; forensic archaeology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Pier Matteo Barone

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Archaeology and Classics Program, American University of Rome, Via Pietro Roselli 4, 00153 Rome, Italy
Interests: archaeological methods and science; remote sensing and GIS; landscape archaeology; archaeological prospections; forensic archaeology; forensic geophysics; forensic geoscience; art crime; cultural heritage protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Laurance Donnelly

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Alfred H Knight International, Kings Business Park, Kings Drive, Prescot L34 1J, UK
Interests: forensic geology; police search; law enforcement; crime scene examination; geological trace evidence; soil forensics; search and rescue; mineral exploration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forensic Geoscience at crime scenes is of paramount importance with particular regard to death investigations. This Special Issue will deal with some of the ways in which the body and environment can provide evidence of the death circumstances with the help of different forensic fields such as archaeology, geology, geophysics, remote sensing, GIS, botany, entomology, osteology, anthropology, and statistics.

The Special Issue welcomes papers on (but is not limited to) principles of forensic search, crime scene investigations, missing persons, forensic geosciences, forensic biology, disaster victim identification, and fire investigation, as well as discovering how the stage of decomposition, the environment around the body or even what the person had last eaten may help determine when and how they died.

Dr. Rosa Maria Di Maggio
Dr. Alastair Ruffell
Dr. Pier Matteo Barone
Dr. Laurance Donnelly
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forensic Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forensic search
  • crime scene investigation
  • missing persons 
  • forensic geoscience 
  • forensic geology 
  • forensic archaeology
  • forensic geophysics 
  • remote sensing 
  • GIS 
  • forensic anthropology and osteology
  • forensic biology 
  • forensic botany 
  • forensic entomology 
  • forensic statistics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 7505 KiB  
Article
Mapping Decomposition: A Preliminary Study of Non-Destructive Detection of Simulated body Fluids in the Shallow Subsurface
by Pier Matteo Barone, Danielle Matsentidi, Alex Mollard, Nikola Kulengowska and Mohit Mistry
Forensic Sci. 2022, 2(4), 620-634; https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci2040046 - 23 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2718
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forensic Geoscience and Death Investigations)
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16 pages, 22823 KiB  
Article
A Controlled Experiment to Test the Efficacy of Ground-Penetrating Radar in the Search for Clandestine Burials in Poland
by Tomasz Borkowski, Fernando Constantino, Alexandre Novo, Jamie Frattarelli and Maciej Trzciński
Forensic Sci. 2022, 2(3), 585-600; https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci2030043 - 31 Aug 2022
Viewed by 2529
Abstract
The international workshop ‘Forensic Search and Recovery of Clandestine Graves’ took place over two days in 2021 in Wroclaw, Poland. The goal of the workshop was to improve search methods and techniques related to the examination of clandestine burial sites. Geophysical methods were [...] Read more.
The international workshop ‘Forensic Search and Recovery of Clandestine Graves’ took place over two days in 2021 in Wroclaw, Poland. The goal of the workshop was to improve search methods and techniques related to the examination of clandestine burial sites. Geophysical methods were used by an international team of multi-disciplinary specialists to detect simulated burial sites. The training focused on testing methods, including Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), to verify the effectiveness of the methods in the search for two features representing clandestine burials. The forensic community in Central European countries, including Poland, has been slow to adopt these technologies due to controversial results. While geophysical research is successfully carried out in archaeological research and forensic contexts internationally, its application in the activities of the prosecutor’s office and the police in Poland has been relatively unsuccessful. This has resulted in several controversies related primarily to the erroneous expectations of how the methods are successfully applied. This may be the result of operator inexperience in applying these methods to the search for clandestine burials. This training paired an experienced GPR operator with law enforcement teams and archaeologists, leading to the successful discovery of simulated burials using GPR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forensic Geoscience and Death Investigations)
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11 pages, 837 KiB  
Article
Preliminary Taphonomical Comparison of the Decomposition Process in Simple Burials, Traditional Tombs and Aerated Tombs in an Urban Cemetery in Northern Italy
by Edda Emanuela Guareschi and Paola Annarosa Magni
Forensic Sci. 2022, 2(3), 505-515; https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci2030037 - 19 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3974
Abstract
In densely populated countries like Italy, cremation is promoted for the final disposition of the dead. However, many families still choose inhumation or entombment. In ordinary (traditional) tombs, bodies skeletonize slowly and partially, and often need a second disposal after the exhumation. The [...] Read more.
In densely populated countries like Italy, cremation is promoted for the final disposition of the dead. However, many families still choose inhumation or entombment. In ordinary (traditional) tombs, bodies skeletonize slowly and partially, and often need a second disposal after the exhumation. The aim of this study was to experimentally test the functionality of a new type of tomb, defined as “aerated”. Aerated tombs feature an aerating system, absorbing materials and a purifying filter, which collectively maintain ventilation, process putrefactive fluids and gases and neutralize odors. In an experimental cemetery area with pristine soil, limbs of piglets were wrapped in cotton sheets and were either inhumed, placed in ordinary tombs or placed in aerated tombs. Following exhumation after planned time intervals (1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 months), all samples were macro- and microscopically examined. The inhumed samples were completely skeletonized by 9 months after burial, and after 12 months showed initial bioerosion in bone Haversian canals. The traditionally entombed samples developed progressive adipocere formation, whereas the samples disposed in aerated tombs became mummified. Despite this outcome, aerated tombs represent a more energy-effective, environmentally-friendly and economical choice when compared to ordinary tombs. A mummified body is lighter and drier than a body entombed traditionally and, as such, it is easier to exhume and quicker to cremate. Overall, in the absence of alternative burials, aerated tombs are more suitable than ordinary tombs for the final disposition of the dead in cemeteries with limited space. The results of this experiment add to the knowledge of taphonomical processes in temperate climates and urban environments, potentially benefitting the forensic and medico-legal community. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forensic Geoscience and Death Investigations)
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15 pages, 4648 KiB  
Article
Soil Colour and Plant-Wax Markers: Application in Forensic Investigations under Urban Subtropical Environments
by Samara Testoni, Lorna Dawson, Vander Melo, Josiane Lopes-Mazzetto, Bruna Ramalho and Fábio Salvador
Forensic Sci. 2022, 2(1), 57-71; https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci2010005 - 14 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3802
Abstract
Most cases involving soil in criminal investigations in Brazil have focused on the chemical and mineralogical analyses of soil fractions without including the organic matter. The organic fraction contains plant-wax markers which may be useful to “fingerprint” forensic soils due to their chemical [...] Read more.
Most cases involving soil in criminal investigations in Brazil have focused on the chemical and mineralogical analyses of soil fractions without including the organic matter. The organic fraction contains plant-wax markers which may be useful to “fingerprint” forensic soils due to their chemical diversity, relative longevity and resistant nature. The aim of this study was to test the long- (kilometre), medium- (metre) and short- (centimetre) scale variability of plant-wax biomarkers in a forensic context in anthropised urban soils and soils developed under subtropical conditions. Two areas from the Curitiba municipality and two areas from the Colombo municipality, Paraná State, South Brazil, were selected. Soil colour analysis was carried out to obtain reflectance data over the 360–740 nm wavelength range. Furthermore, plant-wax marker compounds (n-alkanes and fatty-alcohols) were assessed by extraction and separation into different classes and an analysis of the compounds by gas chromatography (GC/MS). The compositions of the wax-marker profiles were different in samples collected side-by-side, showing sensitivity to local variations under subtropical conditions and in areas under intense human urban disturbance. Under these conditions, biomarkers may be used in real crime scenes, even on a micrometric scale of variation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forensic Geoscience and Death Investigations)
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