Soil Forensics Henk Kars Lida van den Eijkel Editors Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics Proceedings of the Soil Forensics Special, 6th European Academy of Forensic Science Conference, The Hague Soil Forensics Series editor Henk Kars Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, The Netherlands To be a forum for all (scientific) workers in the rather fragmented field of Soil Forensics This fragmented character is intrinsic to multidisciplinary research fields and a common platform for the exchange of knowledge and discussion is therefore heavily needed To promote the field of Soil Forensics in academia, in forensic research institutes, legal profession/jurisdiction organisations and for the general public (science sections in newspapers) To contribute to a high scientific standard of the field To be attractive for publishing in the series it is peer reviewed in order to be competitive with journals such as Forensic Science International More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11807 Henk Kars • Lida van den Eijkel Editors Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics Proceedings of the Soil Forensics Special, 6th European Academy of Forensic Science Conference, The Hague Editors Henk Kars Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, The Netherlands Lida van den Eijkel Netherlands Forensic Institute The Hague, The Netherlands ISSN 2214-4293 ISSN 2214-4315 (electronic) Soil Forensics ISBN 978-3-319-33113-3 ISBN 978-3-319-33115-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33115-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016951948 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland Preface In this first volume of a newly established series on soil forensics, the reader will find a collection of papers based on contributions to the soil forensics sessions that were a part of the 6th triennial conference of the European Academy of Forensic Sciences in the Hague in 2012 They represent a cross section of the many contributions: 34 oral presentations, a workshop and a forum in a total of 12 sessions, and, in addition, another 18 posters on display throughout the conference The soil sessions of the conference, also the 4th meeting of the world-wide Soil Forensics International (SFI) network, attracted contributors from all corners of the globe, reflecting the fact that everywhere soils are recognized as a source of meaningful forensic information Together the contributors showed the multiple uses of soil forensics in the different areas of law enforcement these days In criminal investigation, soil is studied as trace evidence and as a place where victims are buried and decay In environmental investigations, the quality of soil as such is studied, since everywhere soil is protected by law from pollution and mismanagement All forensic soil examinations however share common ground: fieldwork at crime scenes, sampling procedures, and laboratory analysis to gather data, followed by the difficult task of interpreting the obtained results given the enormous complexity of soil with its many functions, the multitude of processes that take place in it, and its big variability in space and time During the conference, much experience with this complicated material was shared among all participants, both practitioners doing casework and academic researchers involved in the fundamental development of soil forensics Finally, in a forum, questions and insights that had emerged during the sessions were discussed, leading to some recommendations for the community of forensic soil scientists to work on in the future For instance, what’s in a name? Soil forensics deals with the study of soils as depicted above, and it is, as is the case with the whole field of forensic science, an inter- to multidisciplinary discipline, with extremely important transdisciplinary aspects It was felt, therefore, that a widely accepted common terminology for all aspects of this field is urgently needed for the research community and end users in law enforcement v vi Preface Another concern was related to the fragmentary nature of the current practice of forensic soil science It is an applied science, but the field covers the whole range of research, from service-on-demand work at one end to fundamental interdisciplinary research at the other The research community of soil forensics however is composed of numerous small groups or even individual researchers all over the world It is a challenge of vital importance to this community to create larger research groups and interaction on (inter)national levels Cooperation and exchange will help to be more successful with funding bodies and will further improve the quality of soil forensics and keep it up to date – all with the final goal of increasing its strength of evidence for the end users in law enforcement This book gives the reader a broad view on the current practice of soil forensics in case work and the research that is taking place internationally to further develop this field The contents can of course be studied from a specialist point of view, focusing on the particular aspect that one is interested in, but for forensic applications of soil science, it is essential to keep in mind and elaborate on the themes as discussed by the forum The aim of this book is to contribute substantially to the importance of soil forensics as a truly forensic expertise Amsterdam, The Netherlands The Hague, The Netherlands Henk Kars Lida van den Eijkel Contents Part I Criminal Soil Forensics: The Examination of Traces and Legal Context Forensic Palynology: Checking Value of Pollen Analysis as a Tool to Identify Crime Scene in Semiarid Environments M Munuera-Giner and J.S Carrión Forensic Palynology: How Pollen in Dry Grass Can Link to a Crime Scene Martina Weber and Silvia Ulrich 15 Geological Analysis of Soil and Anthropogenic Material Three Case Studies Rosa Maria Di Maggio 25 Forensic Soil Analysis: Case Study of Looting at a Roman-Visigothic Burial Vault Enrique Santillana, Jose C Cordero, and Francisco Alamilla 45 Soil Comparisons Using Small Soil Traces, A Case Report Stefan Uitdehaag, Frederike Quaak, and Irene Kuiper 61 Forensic Comparison of Soil Samples Jisook Min, Kiwook Kim, Sangcheol Heo, and Yurim Jang 71 Reinstating Soil Examination as a Trace Evidence Sub-discipline 107 Brenda Woods, Chris Lennard, K Paul Kirkbride, and James Robertson Methodology of Forensic Soil Examination in Russia and a View on the World Standardization Process 121 Olga Gradusova and Ekaterina Nesterina vii viii Contents Part II Environmental Soil Forensics: Tools for Spatial and Chemical Analysis Geographical Information Systems – A Working Example in the Brazilian Federal Police for Fighting Environmental Crime 139 Daniel Araujo Miranda and Daniel Russo 10 Forensic Characterization of Gasoline Releases Impacting the Environment 153 Gil Oudijk 11 A General Overview of Pesticides in Soil: Requirement of Sensitive and Current Residue Analysis Methods 163 Sevcan Semen, Selda Mercan, and Munevver Acikkol Part IIIa Searches: Cooperation, Strategies and Techniques 12 A Study of pH as an Influencing Factor in the Survival of Human Remains at Sites Investigated by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains 183 N.A McCullagh 13 Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Search and Location of Buried Bodies: A United Kingdom Context 201 Karl Harrison, Lorna Dawson, and Gaille Mackinnon 14 Forensic Geophysics: How the GPR Technique Can Help with Forensic Investigations 213 P.M Barone, C Ferrara, E Pettinelli, and A Fazzari 15 Filter Paper Adsorption and Ninhydrin Reagent as Presumptive Test for Gravesoil 229 Martien H.F Graumans, Tim C.W van der Heijden, Aleksandra Kosinska, Maarten J Blom, and Ben M de Rooij Part IIIb Burial Sites: Decomposition and Degradation Processes 16 Changes in Soil Microbial Activity Following Cadaver Decomposition During Spring and Summer Months in Southern Ontario 243 Heloise A Breton, Andrea E Kirkwood, David O Carter, and Shari L Forbes 17 Soil Fauna and Their Effects on Decomposition Within Coniferous and Deciduous Tree Soil Samples 263 Rebecca J Camplin, Damian Evans, and Iain D Green Contents ix 18 Analysis of Decomposition Fluid Collected from Carcasses Decomposing in the Presence and Absence of Insects 275 Jenna L Comstock, Helene N LeBlanc, and Shari L Forbes 19 Forensic Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds from Decomposed Remains in a Soil Environment 297 Sonja Stadler, Jean-Franỗois Focant, and Shari L Forbes 20 GC×GC-TOFMS, the Swiss Knife for VOC Mixtures Analysis in Soil Forensic Investigations 317 Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto and Jean-Franỗois Focant 21 An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments 331 C Sullivan, B.H Stuart, and P.S Thomas Index 343 Chapter 21 An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments C Sullivan, B.H Stuart, and P.S Thomas Abstract Plastic materials are a source of items that may be located in clandestine grave sites Knowledge of their type and state of preservation or deterioration may provide a valuable resource for the identification of a victim or perpetrator This study involves an examination of the effect of the nature of the soil environment on the structural properties of two common polymers, poly(vinyl chloride) and nylon, over a period of 18 months These polymers represent common types of plastic sheeting and carpet material that may be used to wrap a body Infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy have been used to monitor the structural changes that occur to these polymers in a soil environment and degradation mechanisms are proposed 21.1 Introduction A clandestine burial may be accompanied by materials such as clothing, other textile material, tools, weapons or even plastic or paper products Such items may provide valuable information that establishes the identity of a victim or a perpetrator The nature of a burial environment affects the state of preservation of grave goods (Janaway 1996, 2008) Such materials may be exposed to a variety of conditions, such as differing soil types, climate or exposure to body fluids The environment to which these materials are exposed may be responsible for the varying degrees of preservation or the rate at which materials degrade in a burial environment The acceleration or inhibition of the material degradation processes affects the interpretation of a burial site There have been relatively few reported forensic studies about how the structure of various material types may be specifically affected by soil burial, with much of the reported work involving physical descriptions of the degraded materials C Sullivan (*) • B.H Stuart • P.S Thomas Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia e-mail: Clare.Sullivan@uts.edu.au © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 H Kars, L van den Eijkel (eds.), Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics, Soil Forensics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33115-7_21 331 332 C Sullivan et al Synthetic polymers are used for a variety of purposes and for this study two examples of polymers that might potentially be found at a clandestine burial site are examined Polymers is in sheet form may be used to wrap a body prior to disposal or burial and a number of case studies have reported the use of plastic shower curtains as a means of covering a body Shower curtains are commonly manufactured using the polymer poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) Carpets manufactured using synthetic polymer fibres also provide an example of material used for the disposal of human remains Nylon is the most common synthetic material used in the manufacture of carpet with nylon and nylon 6,6 being the particular structural types of this polyamide that are widely used for carpet production (Anton and Baird 2005) For the current study, the effects of various environmental factors on the structural and chemical properties of polymers that can be encountered as grave goods are being investigated Buried materials have been systematically exhumed from model soil environments, with parameters including soil type and moisture content being controlled Analytical techniques, including infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy are being employed to examine the exhumed specimens 21.2 Materials and Methods Model soil environments were prepared in sealed polyethylene boxes with ventilation holes inserted above soil level Five environments were prepared for the current study: loam soil, a 50:50 clay: loam soil mixture, sand, wet soil and dry soil Commercially obtained loam soil, builder’s clay and river sand were used to produce the model environments The reference soil environment was established using loam soil at pH and ‘as received’ moisture content The wet soil environment was created by the addition of distilled water and this was monitored using a moisture meter with additional portions of distilled water been added when necessary The dry soil environment was established by placing loam soil in a vacuum oven at 60 °C for 12 h Commercial plasticised PVC sheeting of 70 μm thickness was cut into × 20 cm pieces and buried in each soil environment A preliminary study of nylon carpet (comprised of 0.4 mm × 10 mm fibre bundles) was carried out on the burial of × 20 cm pieces in a wet environment All specimens were buried at a depth of cm below the surface (total depth 10 cm) The boxes were stored at room temperature in the dark Sampling was carried out on a month basis for a period of 18 months Exhume specimens were rinsed with distilled water to remove residual soil Following air-drying, the specimens were stored in polyethylene bags prior to analysis PVC specimens were analysed using a Nicolet Magna IR 6700 Fourier transform infrared spectrometer equipped with a liquid nitrogen cooled mercury cadmium telluride detector The specimens were examined using an attenuated total reflectance (ATR) sampling accessory The spectra were recorded over a range of 4000–500 cm−1 and 128 scans were collected with a resolution of cm−1 Samples were repeated in duplicate Nylon samples were analysed using a Cary 630 Fourier transform infrared 21 An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments 333 spectrometer and sampled using a diamond ATR accessory The spectra were recorded over a range of 4000–600 cm−1 and 32 scans were collected with a resolution of cm−1 Samples were repeated in duplicate A FEI Quanta 200 ESEM and a Zeiss Evo SEM was used for the qualitative analysis of the surface morphology of the polymer specimens Specimens were secured onto the sample holder using a carbon tab Both instruments had an accelerating voltage of 20 kV using H2O as the chamber gas The FEI Quanta 200 was used with a spot size of 4.0 and pressure of 130 Pa while the Zeiss Evo was used with a spot size of 5.0 and pressure of 105 Pa 21.3 21.3.1 Results and Discussion Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Figure 21.1a illustrates the infrared spectrum of the PVC film prior to burial The spectrum shows representative bands associated with the polymer itself, as well as distinctive bands associated with the plasticiser content Typically PVC sheeting contains about 10–30 % plasticiser content in order to introduce flexibility into the polymer The spectrum shows bands associated with bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, a common phthalate ester plasticiser Characteristic plasticiser bands are observed at 1070, 1120, 1465, 1578 and 1595 cm−1 and a strong band due to C=O stretching at 1720 cm−1 (Marcilla et al 2008; ASTM Standard D2124 2011; Muralisrinivarasan 2012) Infrared analysis of an extract of the plasticiser from the PVC into tetrahydrofuran was used to confirm the identity of the plasticiser as bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate as observed in Fig 21.1b The fingerprint region of the plasticised PVC spectrum below 1500 cm−1 is complex with overlapping plasticiser and polymer bands, 1720cm -1 -1 1425cm -1 1465cm 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 Wavenumber/cm-ϙ Fig 21.1a FTIR spectra of PVC prior to burial (bottom) and after burial in a wet soil environment for 12 months (top) 334 3500 C Sullivan et al 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 Wavenumber /cm-ϙ Fig 21.1b FTIR spectra of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate plasticizer in PVC but there are bands at 955 and 1425 cm−1 that may be assigned to the polymer structure (Ramesh et al 2007; Marcilla et al 2008; Muralisrinivarasan 2012) Weak bands are also observed near 2300 cm−1 in the spectrum of the PVC sheeting prior to burial These may be attributed to a phosphate ester, which are commonly used in PVC formulations as flame retardants (Berard et al 2005) These bands are not observed in the PVC after burial Inspection of the spectra collected for different burial environments reveals changes to the plasticiser bands as a function of burial duration An example spectrum is illustrated in Fig 21.1a, showing the spectrum of PVC buried in wet soil for 12 months The ratio of the absorbance of the 1720 cm−1 plasticiser band relative to the 1425 cm−1 PVC band decreases with burial time in each environment (Fig 21.2) The principal plasticiser bands at 1720 and 1465 cm−1 have been referenced to a 1425 cm−1 polymer band as these bands are relatively clear of overlap with adjacent bands However, the slopes obtained for each plot vary according to environment and the results are summarised in Table 21.1 The slopes for the 1720/1425 plots for the wet, clay and sand environments indicate a sharper decline in plasticiser content compared to the reference and dry environments The presence of water in the soil appears responsible for the loss of at least surface plasticiser (ATR spectroscopy samples the sample to a micrometre level), with the rate of removal more than doubled compared to the reference soil as determined from the relative slopes of the decrease in the 1720 cm−1 band with time The plasticiser is not water soluble so is not being dissolved in the moisture present in the soil environment – further experimentation is required to determine the nature of the loss mechanism (e.g enhanced microbial activity) The clay and sand environments, which also show a greater rate of reduction in the plasticiser content, are potentially capable of retaining a greater degree of moisture than the reference soil, so water is connected to the mechanism responsible for the removal of surface plasticiser The dry environment with moisture removed shows similar behaviour to the reference soil There is also an indication that the 1465/1425 cm−1 ratios decrease with burial time and are similarly dependent on soil environment, although the changes to this ratio are less distinct than those observed for the 1720/1425 ratio The 1465/1425 21 An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments 335 2.5 absorbance ratio 1.5 1465/1426 LOAM 1720/1426 0.5 0 10 15 20 burial time / months 2.5 2.5 1720/1426 1.5 WET absorbance ratio absorbance ratio 1465/1426 1465 / 1426 DRY 0 10 15 20 15 20 2.5 2.5 1465 / 1426 1720/1426 1.5 CLAY 0.5 absorbance ratio absorbance ratio 10 burial time / months burial time / months 1720/1426 0.5 0.5 1.5 1.5 SAND 1465 / 1426 1720/1426 0.5 10 15 burial time / months 20 0 10 15 burial time / months Fig 21.2 Infrared absorbance ratios as a function of burial time for PVC specimens 20 336 C Sullivan et al Table 21.1 Slopes of absorbance ratios versus burial time plots for PVC specimens Burial environment Loam Wet Dry Clay Sand 1720/1426 cm−1 ratio −0.021 −0.055 −0.020 −0.045 −0.047 1465/1426 cm−1 ratio −0.008 −0.014 0.002 −0.013 −0.008 ratio plots are also shown in Fig 21.2 and the slopes calculated for each plot are listed in Table 21.1 It is noted that the slopes produced by the different ratio calculations differ in each environment, but this is likely to be a consequence of the measurement of different penetration depths at the 1720 and 1495 cm−1 bands in the ATR spectra: there is a greater penetration depth at 1495 cm−1 The observation of different slopes may provide an indication that there is a higher concentration of plasticiser at the polymer surface The loss of plasticiser is recognised as a PVC degradation process known to occur due to an increase in temperature (Murase et al 1994; Jakubowicz et al 1999) The process has been shown to be linear with time when the process is due to evaporation It is noted that there is no indication of the other main degradation process associated with PVC, in particular, dehydrochlorination Such a mechanism involves the loss of chlorine and the formation of C=C bonds (Singh and Sharma (2008) No changes in the 1680 cm−1 region due to the appearance of the C=C bond in the spectra obtained in the current study were observed so there is no indication of dehydrochlorination in these environments in the time frame studied Changes to the surface morphology of the polymer surface have been examined using SEM A typical micrograph of the PVC prior to burial is shown in Fig 21.3 The surface appears smooth with minimal variation in texture across the surface A micrograph is also shown in Fig 21.3 of the surface of PVC after burial in clay soil for 18 months A notable change in surface texture is observed, with variation illustrated by patches if lighter regions distributed across the surface of the polymer These regions may correlate with areas of plasticiser loss at the surface as loss of this additive is likely to result in a change in surface texture The presence of very small bright spots is believed to be residual particles remaining from soil contact 21.3.2 Nylon A preliminary investigation of the effect on nylon carpet fibres of burial in wet soil has been carried out Figure 21.4 illustrates SEM images obtained for a nylon fibre prior to burial and one exposed to wet soil for 18 months The fibre prior to burial is smooth and even in texture After wet burial, regions of polymer surface with an apparently rougher texture are observed to be distributed on the fibre surface Such regions are indicative of surface modification and similar changes have been 21 An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments 337 Fig 21.3 Scanning electron micrographs (767x magnification, horizontal field width of 149 μm) of PVC fibre prior to burial (top) and after burial in a clay environment for 18 months (bottom) 338 C Sullivan et al Fig 21.4 Scanning electron micrographs of nylon fibre prior to burial (top; 1000x magnification, horizontal field width of 149 μm) and after burial in a wet environment for 18 months (bottom; 767x magnification, horizontal field width of 149 μm) 21 An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 339 500 Wavenumber/cm-ϙ Fig 21.5 FTIR spectra of nylon fibres prior to burial (bottom) and after burial in wet soil for 18 months (top) reported for degraded nylon resulting from exposure to proteolytic enzymes (Parvinzadeh et al 2009) The FTIR spectrum of nylon after exposure to 18 months burial in wet soil, as well as the spectrum for nylon prior to burial, is illustrated in Fig 21.5 There are some minor changes to the spectrum after exposure to wet soil There are decreases in the intensity of bands at 1370, 1180 and 1140 cm−1 that are attributed to C-N-H, CH2-NH and C-O deformations, respectively (Goncalves et al 2007) A decrease in intensity of the combination band (N-H deformation and C-N stretching) at 3080 cm−1 is also observed after burial Such spectral changes have been associated with the oxidation of the nylon structure via the amide nitrogen (Mikolajewski et al 1964; Goncalves et al 2007) It is also noted that the ratio of the intensities of the amide I (predominantly C = O stretching) and II (N-H bending and C-N stretching) bands at 1630 and 1535 cm−1, respectively, changes after exposure to the wet soil environment A change to this ratio has been associated to changes in the nature of the hydrogen bonding in nylon (Iwamoto and Murase 2003) It is noted that a band near 1680 cm−1 is not noted in the spectrum of the buried nylon Observation of such a band is known to indicate nylon oxidation (Colin et al 1981) The changes observed to the nylon carpet fibres remain relatively minor after 18 months exposure to wet soil Although nylon is known to absorb water after long term exposure to moisture, consideration should be given to the surface treatment of the fibres during manufacture Nylon carpets are chemically treated to promote stain resistance as, despite this polymer’s attractive physical properties for use in carpets, they are susceptible to staining The stainblockers used are typically formaldehyde polycondensates of sulfonated, substituted phenols or naphthols (Burkinshaw and Son 2008) The presence of such agents may be responsible for inhibiting the changes to the nylon structure and the nature of pre-treatments will be considered in further studies 340 21.4 C Sullivan et al Conclusions This study has demonstrated the potential of infrared spectroscopy as a technique for characterising and monitoring the changes to polymer based materials buried in a variety of soil environments For the time frame studied, the main mechanism for change to buried PVC is the loss of plasticiser and the rate of loss appears to be associated with nature of soil environment (i.e wet or dry, loam, clay or sand) A more detailed statistical study is being carried out in order to test the validity of these trends A preliminary study of nylon exposed a wet soil environment has indicated that long term burial can result in an oxidation process that can be monitored by infrared spectroscopy The burial of nylon in a wider range of environments is also being investigated Other analytical techniques including thermal analysis are also being employed to gain more a more complete picture of the changes to the polymers as a result of burial References Anton A, Baird BR (2005) Polyamides, fibres, Kirk-Othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology Wiley, Chichester ASTM Standard D2124 (2011) Standard test method for analysis of components in poly(vinyl chloride) compounds using an infrared spectrophotometric technique ASTM International, West Conshohocken Berard MT, Daniels CA, Summers JW, Wilkes CE (2005) PVC handbook Hanser, Munich Burkinshaw SM, Son YA (2008) Stain resist treatments for nylon 6,6 Dyes Pigments 76:650–655 Colin G, Cooney JD, Carlsson DJ, Wiles DM (1981) Deterioration of plastic films under soil burial conditions J Appl Polym Sci 26:509–519 Goncalves ES, Poulsen L, Ogilby PR (2007) Mechanism of the temperature-dependent degradation of polyamide 66 films exposed to water Polym Degrad Stab 92:1977–1985 Iwamoto R, Murase H (2003) Infrared spectroscopic study of the interactions of nylon with water J Polym Sci B Polym Phys 41:1722–1729 Jakubowicz I, Yarahmadi N, Gevert T (1999) Effects of accelerated and natural ageing on plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) Polym Degrad Stab 66:415–421 Janaway RC (1996) The decay of buried human remains and their associated materials In: Hunter J, Roberts C, Martin A (eds) Studies in crime: an introduction to forensic archaeology Routledge, London, pp 58–85 Janaway RC (2008) The decomposition of materials associated with buried cadavers In: Tibbet M, Carter DO (eds) Soil analysis in forensic taphonomy: chemical and biological effects of buried human remains CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 153–202 Marcilla A, Garcia S, Garcia-Quesada JC (2008) Migrability of PVC plasticisers Polym Test 27:221–233 Mikolajewski E, Swallow JE, Webb MW (1964) Wet oxidation of undrawn nylon 66 and model amides J Appl Polym Sci 8:2067–2093 Muralisrinivarasan NS (2012) Polymer testing: new instrumental methods Momentum Press, New York 21 An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments 341 Murase A, Sugiura M, Araga T (1994) An infrared spectroscopic study of the migration of a plasticiser in poly(vinyl chloride) resins Polym Degrad Stab 43:415–422 Parvinzadeh M, Assefipour R, Kiumarsi A (2009) Biohydrolysis of nylon 6,6 fibre with different proteolytic enzymes Polym Degrad Stab 94:1197–1205 Ramesh S, Leen KH, Kumutha K, Arof AK (2007) FTIR studies of PVC/PMMA blend based polymer electrolytes Spectrochim Acta A 66:1237–1242 Singh B, Sharma N (2008) Mechanistic implications of plastic degradation Polym Degrad Stab 93:561–584 Index A Adipose tissue, 277, 294 Aerial imagery, 140 Anemophilous pollen, 4, 8, 11 Animal trafficking, 144 Anthropogenic soil fraction, 26 Anthropology, 202, 230 Archaeology, 47, 185, 201, 202, 219, 230 Association evidence, 99 Attenuated total reflectance infra red spectroscopy (ATR-IR), 288–290, 295 Autolysis, 244, 265, 276 Chromatography, 52, 72, 154, 173–175, 295, 303–308, 312, 313, 318–320, 323, 327 Clothes, 4, Cluster analysis, 56, 57 C:N ratio, 264, 270, 271 Colour, 17, 28, 30, 37, 38, 46, 49, 54, 57, 108, 110–114, 117–119, 231, 234–238 Conclusions Bayesian, 65 categorical, 126 Cooperation, 16, 21, 145, 210 Crime reconstruction, 230 Crime scene examiners, 118 B Bayesian conclusions, 65 Biodegradation, 155, 157 Biomarkers, 276, 322–324 Bray-Curtis distance, 63, 66 Burial sites, 58, 108, 207, 292, 331, 332 Buried objects, 214–216, 224 D Data access, 145 Data-interpretation, 65, 155 Data processing, 219, 224, 306, 307, 322, 327 Data storage, 139, 144, 149 Decomposition, 72, 185, 186, 195, 197, 221, 230–234, 236–239, 243–261, 263–272, 275–294, 298–313, 318 fluid, 244, 248, 252, 256, 276–295 odor, 318 odour signature, 307 process, 231, 253, 256, 259, 260, 264, 272, 276, 278, 280, 294, 301, 303, 318, 319, 325 products, 256, 258–260, 276, 307, 308 rate, 248, 252, 266 stages, 246, 250, 252, 276, 280, 281, 284, 285, 292 Deforestation, 144 Dry grass, 15–21 C Cadavers of mice, 270, 271 of pigs, 232 Canopie, 264, 266, 269 Carbon, 72, 73, 75–76, 93, 94, 97, 99, 101, 102, 104, 154, 172, 175, 264, 265, 271, 298, 333 Carpet, 322, 332, 336, 339 Categorical conclusions, 126 Chemical analysis, 57, 110, 171, 308 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 H Kars, L van den Eijkel (eds.), Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics, Soil Forensics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33115-7 343 344 E Ecological profiling, 202 Elemental analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), 39, 41, 51 Elemental composition, 51, 61, 62, 108 Element analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometer (EA-IRMS), 73, 75, 81 Entomophilous pollen, 11 Environmental clean-up, 174 Environmental conditions, 248–252, 259, 299 Environmental crime, 139–151 Environmental forensics, 144 Environmental monitoring, 176 Environmental profiling, 165 Evidential value, 26, 61, 62, 64–68, 237 Excavation, 47, 183, 184, 189, 190, 193, 194, 197, 201, 204, 206, 214, 218, 221, 222, 224, 230, 271, 324 F Fatty acids, 276, 277, 288–290, 293–295 Fluorescein diacetate assay, 247 Footwear, 4, 5, 8, 11, 27, 28, 30, 33 Forensic ecology, 201, 209, 210 Forensic examination procedure, 131 Forensic experts certification, 122 Forensic identification, 126–127 Forensic procedure, 126 Forensic reporting, 140, 143–146, 149, 151 Forensic taphonomy, 184, 185, 196, 230, 298 Fourier transform infra red (FT-IR) spectroscopy, 35, 36, 72 Fraud, 145, 148, 149, 323 Fungal spore, 8, 17–21, 27, 64, 167 G Gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS), 308–312 Gasoline age-dating, 154 analysis, 154 fingerprinting, 153–154 spillage, 153 Geographical information system (GIS), 139–151 Geophysics, 213–225 Grass pollen, 16–21 Index Grave soils, 299, 318, 319, 321, 323–325 Ground penetrating radar (GPR), 207, 213–225, 230, 238 H Homicide, 15, 16, 21, 34–38, 45, 207 Human remains, 183–198, 203, 206, 214, 263–265, 298, 299, 301, 302, 312, 313, 319, 332 Hydrocarbons, 154, 155, 161, 208, 300, 310, 324–326 I Illegal mining, 144, 145 Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR), 184–187, 190, 193, 195, 196 Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP-OES), 52, 72 Information management, 144 Inorganic soil fraction, 26, 42 Insects, 165–168, 230, 244, 259, 265, 275–294 Inteligeo, 144–151 Investigation team, 205, 207, 210 Ion chromatography (IC), 52, 56, 57, 174 Isotopes, 72, 73, 75–76, 93, 94, 104, 201 K Knowledge base, 187 L Landscape signatures, 203, 207, 208 Laser granulometry, 50, 54, 55 Liability, 76, 126, 198 Likelihood ratio (LR), 63, 65–67, 125, 126 M Mediterranean environment, Microbial DNA, 49, 53–54, 63, 65, 66 Mineralization, 264 Minerals, 26, 29, 30, 37, 40–42, 46, 50–52, 62, 72, 73, 91, 108, 124, 169, 171, 209, 230, 231, 265 Multivariate statistics, 319, 323, 325 345 Index N Ninhydrin reactive nitrogen (NRN), 231, 232, 238, 239 Nitrogen, 72, 75, 76, 104, 175, 230, 231, 238, 239, 244, 264, 265, 271, 298, 308, 311, 325, 332, 339 No-body murder, 203, 204, 206, 210 Non-destructive analysis, 28, 39 Non-destructive search technique, 28, 39, 46, 50 Non-invasive search technique, 224 Nutrients, 244, 245, 248, 260, 265, 271, 300 Nylon, 267, 332, 336–340 O Organic soil fraction, 208 Organo-metallic compounds, 160 Outdoor crime scene, 201 P Palynology, 3–11, 15–21, 201 Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), 76, 95–97, 104 Particle size distribution, 49, 50, 54, 55, 57, 116 PCA See Principal component analysis (PCA) Pesticides, 145, 149, 163–176 classification, 166–168 environmental impact, 164 persistence, 169 residues analysis, 173 use, 165, 168 Phthalate, 333, 334 PIANO, 154–157, 160 Plant material, 35, 124 Plasticise, 332–334, 336, 340 Plastics, 8, 26, 53, 61, 187, 197, 217, 279, 331–334, 336, 340 deterioration, 331 preservation, 331 Pollen assemblage, 11, 17, 19–21 preservation, 11 taxa, 17 Poly(vinylchloride) (PVC), 332–336 Polymers, 174, 332, 334, 336, 339, 340 Post-mortem interval, 244, 276, 277, 299 Preservation of human remains, 187, 190 Presumptive testing, 229–239 Principal component analysis (PCA), 95, 319, 323, 324, 326, 327 Probabilistic evidence, 126 Putrefaction, 244, 265, 271, 276, 298 R Raman spectroscopy, 28–32, 72 Rapid data collection, 219 Rapid on the scene test, 238 Reference samples, 16, 27, 48, 53, 119, 132, 134, 208, 209 Refinery, 153, 155, 159–160 Reformulated gasoline, 155, 159 Reinstatement forensic palynology, 16–21 Reinstatement soil forensics, 110 S Search(es), 95, 126, 145, 183–187, 193, 197, 201–210, 214, 216, 224, 230, 267, 324 Search strategy, 184 Semiarid environment, 3–11 Smell of death See Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Soil acidity, 183, 185 extraction, 174 fauna, 244, 263–271 flora, 300 fractions, 30, 49, 116, 117 microbial activity, 243–261 microbial community, 245, 260 moisture, 245, 247, 248, 253–256, 258–260, 267, 268 organic matter, 271 pre-treatment, 170, 171 sampling, 73–75, 170–171, 174, 208 science, 109, 122, 185, 244 storage, 171 traces, 26, 61–68, 125–129, 131–136, 208 typology, 185 Soil analysis, 45–59, 72, 104, 108, 118, 206, 208 methodology, 266–267 standardization, 124 Spatial analysis, 140 Specialist soil scientists, 109 Spectrophotometer, 49, 73–76, 81, 86, 111 Statistical analysis, 51, 54, 56, 76, 97–99, 126, 307 346 Index T Taphonomy, 11, 184, 185, 196, 230, 261, 298 Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (tRFLP), 61–64, 66, 67 Tools, 21, 38, 39, 41, 45, 47, 58, 135, 139, 140, 144, 145, 149, 214, 224, 261, 306, 307, 319, 322, 323, 331 Trace evidence scientists, 109–111, 117, 118 Training programs, 122–124 Two dimensional gas chromatography, 304–307, 313, 319–322 X X-ray diffraction (XRD), 28, 29, 35, 37, 39, 41, 46, 50, 51, 56, 72, 73, 113 X-ray fluorescence (XRF), 62, 72, 73, 75, 77–80, 87, 92, 99, 104 U Ubiquitousness, 33, 42 Z Zoophilous pollen, Uniqueness, 302 V Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 297–313, 317–319, 321, 324, 325 knowledge base, 313 ... rosamaria.dimaggio@gmail.com © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 H Kars, L van den Eijkel (eds.), Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics, Soil Forensics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33115-7_3... falamilla@guardiacivil.es © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 H Kars, L van den Eijkel (eds.), Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics, Soil Forensics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33115-7_4... combination of plant species growing and flowering in the meadow and the surrounding vegetation before mowing Moreover, pollen is deposited on dry grass while drying In the investigated surface soil