Criminal and Environmental Soil Forensics

Front Matter....Pages i-xl
“Soils Ain't Soils”: Context and Issues Facing Soil Scientists in a Forensic World....Pages 3-12
Expert Scientific Evidence in Court: The Legal Considerations....Pages 13-31
Some Thoughts on the Role of Probabilistic Reasoning in the Evaluation of Evidence....Pages 33-47
Microbial Community Profiling for the Characterisation of Soil Evidence: Forensic Considerations....Pages 49-60
The Current Status of Forensic Soil Examination in the Russian Federation....Pages 61-73
Characterisation and Discrimination of Urban Soils: Preliminary Results from the Soil Forensics University Network....Pages 75-86
Environmental Considerations for Common Burial Site Selection After Pandemic Events....Pages 87-101
A Systematic Approach to Soil Forensics: Criminal Case Studies Involving Transference from Crime Scene to Forensic Evidence....Pages 105-127
Forensic Ecology, Botany, and Palynology: Some Aspects of Their Role in Criminal Investigation....Pages 129-149
Sediment and Soil Environmental Forensics: What Do We Know?....Pages 151-162
Petrography and Geochemical Analysis for the Forensic Assessment of Concrete Damage....Pages 163-180
Tracing Soil and Groundwater Pollution with Electromagnetic Profiling and Geo-Electrical Investigations....Pages 181-194
Locating Concealed Homicide Victims: Developing the Role of Geoforensics....Pages 197-219
Geological Trace Evidence: Forensic and Legal Perspectives....Pages 221-237
New Observations on the Interactions Between Evidence and the Upper Horizons of the Soil....Pages 239-251
The Forensic Analysis of Sediments Recovered from Footwear....Pages 253-269
Using Soil and Groundwater Data to Understand Resistivity Surveys over a Simulated Clandestine Grave....Pages 271-284
Spatial Thinking in Search Methodology: A Case Study of the ‘No Body Murder Enquiry’, West of Ireland....Pages 285-302
Localisation of a Mass Grave from the Nazi Era: A Case Study....Pages 303-314
Research in Forensic Taphonomy: A Soil-Based Perspective....Pages 317-331
Can Temperature Affect the Release of Ninhydrin-Reactive Nitrogen in Gravesoil Following the Burial of a Mammalian ( Rattus rattus ) Cadaver?....Pages 333-340
Taphonomic Changes to the Buried Body in Arid Environments: An Experimental Case Study in Peru....Pages 341-356
Decomposition Studies Using Animal Models in Contrasting Environments: Evidence from Temporal Changes in Soil Chemistry and Microbial Activity....Pages 357-377
Microbial Community Analysis of Human Decomposition on Soil....Pages 379-394
Analysis of Soils in a Forensic Context:Comparison of Some Current and Future Options....Pages 397-409
Automated SEM-EDS (QEMSCAN®) Mineral Analysis in Forensic Soil Investigations: Testing Instrumental Reproducibility....Pages 411-430
Rapid, Reliable and Reviewable Mineral Identification with Infrared Microprobe Analysis....Pages 431-443
Preservation and Analysis of Three-Dimensional Footwear Evidence in Soils: The Application of Optical Laser Scanning....Pages 445-461
Discrimination of Domestic Garden Soils Using Plant Wax Compounds as Markers....Pages 463-476
Environmental Forensic Investigations: The Potential Use of a Novel Heavy Metal Sensor and Novel Taggants....Pages 477-490
Separation and Concentration of Trace Evidence from Soils Using a Hydropneumatic Elutriation Trace Evidence Concentrator (TEC)....Pages 491-497
Soils in Forensic Science: Underground Meets Underworld....Pages 501-513
Back Matter....Pages 515-519