Journal
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
Volume 57, Issue 6, Pages 1467-1486Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.02151.x
Keywords
forensic science; forensic geophysics; clandestine grave; monitoring; electrical resistivity; ground-penetrating radar; conductivity
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Funding
- U.K.'s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
- RSK STATS Geoconsult Limited
- Keele University Acorn research grant
- Keele Innovation in Teaching Award [67]
- U.K. HEFCE SRIF2 equipment grant
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This study provides forensic search teams with systematic geophysical monitoring data over simulated clandestine graves for comparison to active cases. Simulated wrapped and naked burials were created. Multigeophysical surveys were collected over a 3-year monitoring period. Bulk ground resistivity, electrical resistivity imaging, multifrequency ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and grave and background soil-water conductivity data were collected. Resistivity surveys revealed the naked burial had consistently low-resistivity anomalies, whereas the wrapped burial had small, varying high-resistivity anomalies. GPR 110- to 900-MHz frequency surveys showed the wrapped burial could be detected throughout, with the naked burial mostly resolved. Two hundred and twenty-five megahertz frequency GPR data were optimal. Soil-water analyses showed rapidly increasing (year 1), slowly increasing (year 2), and decreasing (year 3) conductivity values. Results suggest resistivity and GPR surveys should be collected if target wrapping is unknown, with winter to spring surveys optimal. Resistivity surveys should be collected in clay-rich soils.
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