Soil in criminal and environmental forensics

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 ... (eds.), Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics, Soil Forensics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33115-7_1 M Munuera-Giner and J.S Carrión Mildenhall 1992; Stanley 1992; Szibor et al 1998; Bruce and Dettmann... found in Cartagena and Espinardo but relative diversity in soil surface samples was higher than in shoe samples in Espinardo and Albudeite, and lower in samples from Carrascalejo, La Alberca and. .. 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