Detecting buried human remains using near-surface geophysical instruments

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

To improve the recovery rate of unlocated buried human remains in forensic investigations, there is scope to evaluate and develop techniques that are applicable to the Australian environment. I established controlled gravesites (comprising shallow buried kangaroos, pigs, and human cadavers) in South Australia, to allow the methodical testing of remote sensing equipment for the purpose of grave detection in forensic investigations. Eight-month-old pig graves are shown to provide more distinct identifying results using ground-penetrating radar when compared to four-year-old kangaroo graves. Two further aspects of this research are presented: information (obtained from a survey) relating to the police use of geophysical instruments for locating buried human remains, and the use of electrical resistivity for locating human remains buried in a coffin. The survey of Australian police jurisdictions, covering the period 1995-2000, showed that police searches for unlocated bodies have not successfully located human remains using any geophysical instruments (such as ground-penetrating radar, magnetometers, or electrical resistivity). Lower resistivity readings were found coincident with the 150-year-old single historical burial in a heavily excavated field, in a situation where its exact location was previously unknown.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 "The Search for ＂Yvonne＂:A Case Example of the Delineation of a Grave Using Near-Surface Geophysical Methods" 45 : 2000

2 "The Search for Graves" 1991

3 "Techniques for Locating Burials with Emphasis on the Probe" 40 : 1995

4 "Remote Sensing Applications in Forensic Investigations" 35 : 2001

5 "Journal of Forensic Sciences"

6 "Investigative Sub-Surface Search:The Pros and Cons of Some Instrumented Search Technologies Available to Police in Australia" 53 : 1999

7 "Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys to Locate 1918 Spanish Flu Victims in Permafrost" 45 : 2000

8 "Geological Survey of Finland" 1992

9 "Forensic GPR: finitedifference simulations of responses from buried human remains" 45 : 2000

10 "Disturbances in the Soil: Finding Buried Bodies and Other Evidence Using Ground Penetrating Radar:" 41 : 1996

11 "Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory" Academic Press 1984

12 "A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Detection of Clandestine" 1992