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Geosciences
Special Issues
The State-of-Art Methods and Case Studies in Geoforensics
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The State-of-Art Methods and Case Studies in Geoforensics

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 6311

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Roberta Somma

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Guest Editor
Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: forensic geology; environmental forensics; applied geophysics; ERT; GPR; forensic trace and micro-trace analysis; groundwater pollution; criminalistics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rosanna Maniscalco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Interests: biostratigraphy; tectonics; sequence stratigraphy; geological mapping; sedimentary basins stratigraphy; structural geology; active tectonics; paleoceanography; basin analysis; marine geology; geotourism; sedimentology; exploration geophysics; carbonates; quaternary geology; palaeoecology; paleomagnetism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Luca Trombino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences “Ardito Desio”, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Interests: geomorphology; soils; geopedology; paleopedology; micromorphology; geoforensics; sedimentology; geoarchaeology
Dr. Sebastiano Ettore Spoto

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: Raman spectroscopy; geochemistry; source-to-sink sedimentary dynamics; environmental mineralogy; mineral pigments; CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue “The State-of-Art Methods and Case Studies in Geoforensics” is aimed at providing selected contributions on advances in the research, new ideas, analytical techniques, and modern applications in the wide field of geosciences applied to criminal investigations.

Geoforensics is the discipline that uses the scientific principles and techniques of the geosciences to solve criminal cases, assisting law enforcements, reconstructing events, or providing evidence then used in a court of law. It may concern serious crimes against human beings and animals, environment, and property.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • Geoforensics and medical geology;
  • Forensic sedimentology, stratigraphy, micropaleontology, and soil sciences;
  • New techniques for the study of soils and gemstones;
  • Raman spectroscopy applied to geoforensics and environmental crimes;
  • Searching for clandestine graves, field experimentation and experimental burials;
  • Geographical profiling applied to serial crimes and GIS-based priority search maps applied to criminal investigations.

As Guest Editors, we would like to kindly invite you to contribute with research papers on any topic related to this Special Issue.

Dr. Roberta Somma
Dr. Rosanna Maniscalco
Dr. Luca Trombino
Dr. Sebastiano Ettore Spoto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • geoforensics
  • medical geology
  • gemstones
  • raman spectroscopy
  • clandestine graves
  • geographical profiling
  • GIS-based RAG maps

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 8397 KiB  
Article
Tracking the Route Walked by Missing Persons and Fugitives: A Geoforensics Casework (Italy)
by Roberta Somma
Geosciences 2023, 13(11), 335; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13110335 - 02 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Criminal investigations aiming to track the route walked by missing persons and fugitives (MPFs) usually involve intelligence analysts, military planners, experts in mobile forensics, traditional investigative methods, and sniffer dog handlers. Nonetheless, when MPFs are devoid of any technological device and move in [...] Read more.
Criminal investigations aiming to track the route walked by missing persons and fugitives (MPFs) usually involve intelligence analysts, military planners, experts in mobile forensics, traditional investigative methods, and sniffer dog handlers. Nonetheless, when MPFs are devoid of any technological device and move in uninhabited rural areas devoid of tele cameras and densely covered by vegetation, tracking the route walked by MPFs may be a much more arduous task. In the XVIII century, the expert Georg Popp was able to link a homicide suspect to a sequence of different sites of criminal interest, located in the countryside, by studying the stains of soils found on the footwear and trousers of the suspect. In such complex cases, a very efficient approach for tracking the route walked by MPFs may consist of comparing the geological traces found on the MPFs and their belongings with soils exposed in the event scenes. In particular, the search for peculiar or rare particles and aggregates may strengthen the weight of the geological forensic evidence comparisons. A match of mineralogical, textural, and organic matter data may demonstrate the provenance of the traces from the soil of a specific site, thereby linking the MPFs to the scene of events. Based on the above, the present paper reports geological determinations accomplished for a “mediatic” casework. The results allowed a general high degree of compatibility among traces collected on the MPFs and on the soil from the scene of events to be ascertained. The most significant positive matches, based on the finding of ten peculiar and rare particles and assemblages, allowed the reconstruction of a route about 1.1 km long, as the crow flies, on the event site. Although this procedure was extremely time consuming and available only in a backwards reconstruction linked to the MPFs’ findings, it was of uttermost importance in strengthening the inferences proposed, and for which other methods could not provide any information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The State-of-Art Methods and Case Studies in Geoforensics)
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14 pages, 3477 KiB  
Article
The Fate of Phosphorus in Experimental Burials: Chemical and Ultramicroscopic Characterization and Environmental Control of Its Persistency
by Giulia Tagliabue, Anna Masseroli, Stephania Irmgard Elena Ern, Roberto Comolli, Fulvia Tambone, Cristina Cattaneo and Luca Trombino
Geosciences 2023, 13(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13020024 - 20 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1633
Abstract
The permanence of a buried body in soil always induces the formation of a decomposition island that can serve as a significant recording location to understand how the persistence of a clandestine grave affects soil. This study aims to analyze the elemental exchange [...] Read more.
The permanence of a buried body in soil always induces the formation of a decomposition island that can serve as a significant recording location to understand how the persistence of a clandestine grave affects soil. This study aims to analyze the elemental exchange from buried bodies to soil, with a focus on phosphorus content, and to determine the effects of environmental factors on its persistency. The experiment was carried out using eleven swine carcasses buried in an open site (northern Italy). The analyses were performed using the Olsen P method, which allowed for a recognition of the trend of the amount of phosphorus over time, due to the decomposition of phospholipids, followed by the transfer of the element from bone to soil. Additionally, microanalyses performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS) on two different soil sample specimens (i.e., “dust” and “plug”) allowed for the identification of numerous phosphatic features (i.e., coatings, infillings, impregnations, and organo-mineral associations), which are the result of the interaction between soil and body fluids and can thus be used as indicators of the former presence of decomposing body (even in its absence). The ultramicroscopic analysis also shows increasing and decreasing amounts of P2O5 over time in the soil, which could be related to environmental conditions (i.e., soil moisture), due to the leaching of phosphorus induced by the percolation of natural rainwater. The study underlines the potential use of these methods to evaluate the possibility of a cadaver–soil linkage and of assessing the burial in the soil for a variable period. Moreover, the study may aid in analyzing the dynamics of phosphorus migration from buried bodies to soil during and after the decomposition process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The State-of-Art Methods and Case Studies in Geoforensics)
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28 pages, 11800 KiB  
Article
Unraveling Crimes with Geology: As Geological and Geographical Evidence Related to Clandestine Graves May Assist the Judicial System
by Roberta Somma and Nunzio Costa
Geosciences 2022, 12(9), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12090339 - 12 Sep 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2212
Abstract
The geological and geographical evidence related to crime scenes involving clandestine graves is valuable data to consider during judicial investigations because it can provide useful criminological and criminalistic information. Research results on the nature and main features of historical cases and thirty criminal [...] Read more.
The geological and geographical evidence related to crime scenes involving clandestine graves is valuable data to consider during judicial investigations because it can provide useful criminological and criminalistic information. Research results on the nature and main features of historical cases and thirty criminal burials are reported. Among the studied cases, a recent homicide clandestine grave was analyzed through remote sensing. This latter allowed the definition of GIS-based RAG maps and search priority scenarios and ascertain that the study grave fell in a high priority Red coded area, validating a method previously based only on simulated crime scenes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The State-of-Art Methods and Case Studies in Geoforensics)
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