Abstract
Geophysics is one of the assets commonly deployed in the multi-proxy search for targets buried in the ground and concealed in water, most especially associated with criminal activity (e.g. human remains, graves, weapons/explosives/contraband, toxic waste). Here, we review and provide new case studies in three environments: (1) the search for objects inside human-made structures, (2) the search for buried homicide victims and human remains at unknown locations in peat bogs, and (3) the use of water-penetrating radar (WPR) in the detection of human remains in water. The latter section is expanded to the use of WPR as a reconnaissance tool in mapping areas of thickened sediment fill in water bodies, as a possible search area for sunken and then sediment-buried objects. We introduce a new term – ‘sinkability’ – to convey the concept of subaqueous areas of soft sediment where objects such as human cadavers could reside below the sediment surface.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Mike Langton (Mala Geoscience) for field assistance and advice. Sygma Solutions and Mike Langton facilitated access to high-frequency Mala Geoscience GPR antennas (Figs. 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3). AR wishes to thank Sree Nanukuttan, Geoff Davis, Rachael Parker, Brian Johnston and Lisa Coyle-McLung for access to field sites and invaluable assistance (Fig. 4.1). Sean McAllister (PointPro Ltd) funded the work in Fig. 4.5. Graham Kissock (Police Service of Northern Ireland) is thanked for involving AR in the search shown in Fig. 4.5. Lisa Coyle-McLung and Keith Bennett prompted the work shown in Fig. 4.8. Mark Harrison (Australian Federal Police) and staff of the Centre for Advanced Science and Technology (UK) are thanked for their advice.
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Ruffell, A., Donnelly, L. (2018). Forensic Geophysics and the Search of Building Interiors, Peat Bogs and Freshwater. In: Barone, P., Groen, W. (eds) Multidisciplinary Approaches to Forensic Archaeology. Soil Forensics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94397-8_4
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