Geoforensics

Dr Alastair Ruffell, School of Geography, Archaeology and Paleoecology, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.Dr Jennifer McKinley, School of Geography, Archaeology and Paleoecology, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.

"The book is an excellent source of information on the applied aspect of Earth sciences.  In my opinion, the book is worth reading, especially for those who are professional geologists, geographers or geophysicists.  They may be surprised by the new, sometimes amazing applications of the methodology of their well-known disciplines." (Geologos, November 2010) "[The book] is concerned with evidence of crime from the world beneath our feet: it's more Time Team than Silent Witness … .This book shows that a great number of different scientific instruments and techniques are being used to provide evidence that will stand up in court." (Geomatics World, March/April 2009) "The work is an excellent introductory text, written in a very accessible style, for students and practitioners alike … .To have all this in one book is a great addition to the forensic geoscience literature." (GiS Professional, February 2009)"[This books is] an excellent coverage of the current state of knowledge in both forensics research and the practical application of these geological concepts and techniques.... The whole book is peppered with useful and appropriate examples from the authors’ wide experiences and also from the wider literature. This book is an essential purchase." (Macaulay Institute, November 2008)

• Acknowledgements ixPreamble xi1 Background to the work, organization of the text and history of research 11.1 The scene 41.2 The victim and materials 51.3 The suspect 61.4 The scope of geoforensics 82 Physical geography, geomorphology, landform interpretation, archaeology, stratigraphy and hydrodynamics 132.1 Physical geography 132.2 Atmosphere 162.3 Types of landscapes, landscape change and human influences on the landscape (short and long term) 182.4 Soils 332.5 Hydrodynamics of rivers, lakes, estuaries, seas and oceans 472.6 Geography, geomorphology, geological and soil maps, and other resources 502.7 Groundwater 533 Geophysics 553.1 Seismic methods: macro to micro 573.2 Gravity/gravimetrics 643.3 Electrical 663.4 Magnetic and electromagnetic 703.5 Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) 773.6 Radiometrics 853.7 Review of why some methods are favoured and others not 884 Remote sensing 914.1 Definitions 914.2 Conventional aerial photography: rural and urban examples 924.3 Geoscience use of light photography 934.4 Infrared photography 1024.5 Elevation modelling 1044.6 Photogrammetry 1054.7 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and interferometry 1054.8 Multispectral and thermal imaging 1064.9 Hyperspectral imaging 1094.10 Satellite mapping 1094.11 Long-distance LiDAR (satellite, aerial) 1144.12 Laser scanning of scenes and objects 1174.13 X-ray imagery, X-ray tomography and neutron activation 1174.14 Field Portable X-ray Fluorescence (FPXRF) spectrometry 1224.15 Some conjecture on the future of remote sensing applications 1245 Spatial location and geographic information science 1255.1 Geographic location and crime 1255.2 Spatial data and GIS 1375.3 Spatial analysis within GIS 1405.4 Use of Google Earth in criminal investigations 1526 Scale, sampling and geostatistics 1556.1 Scale and spatial resolution 1556.2 Sampling for geological materials at urban and non-urban crime scenes 1576.3 Timing of the crime 1576.4 Sample size 1576.5 Lateral variation 1596.6 Use and misuse of statistics in forensic studies 1606.7 Statistical sampling 1616.8 Number of samples required for robust statistical analysis 1646.9 Comparing ‘like with like’ 1656.10 Addressing the issue of comparing related material 1656.11 Spatial and temporal variability in nature 1666.12 Spatial awareness and use of spatial statistics: application of geostatistics 1686.13 Geostatistical techniques 1726.14 GIS and geostatistics 1797 Conventional geological analysis 1837.1 Elementary analysis of rocks 1857.2 Hand-specimen analysis – case studies from Murray and Tedrow (1991) 1877.3 Sediment analysis 1907.4 Fossils and microfossils 2207.5 A paradigm shift in geoforensics? 2378 Trace evidence 2418.1 What is geological trace evidence? 2418.2 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) 2498.3 Laser Raman spectroscopy 2538.4 Inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy 2538.5 Isotope analysis 2548.6 X-ray diffraction and trace evidence 2548.7 Manufactured or processed materials that geoscience techniques can analyse 2598.8 Some conjecture on the future of trace evidence 2669 The search for buried materials 2699.1 Introduction 2699.2 Possible methodologies for non-urban underground searches 2749.3 Underwater searches and scene mapping (remote sensing, geophysics) 2769.4 Gas monitoring, organic remains and the decomposition of bodies 2889.5 Weird and wonderful burial locations 29010 Circuit complete 293Appendix 1. Search methods 301Appendix 2. Soil sampling 305A.1 Sampling protocol suggestions 305Glossary 313References 317Index 330