Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, OH, US.
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, OH, US.
Forensic Sci Int. 2022 Jun;335:111289. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111289. Epub 2022 Mar 31.
In this study, we present an experiment design and assess the capability of multiple geophysical techniques to image buried human remains in mass and individual graves using human cadavers willingly donated for scientific research. The study is part of a novel, interdisciplinary mass grave experiment established in May 2021 which consists of a mass grave with 6 human remains, 3 individual graves and 2 empty control graves dug to the same size as the mass grave and individual graves. Prior to establishing the graves, we conducted background measurements of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), electromagnetics (EM), and ground penetrating radar (GPR) while soil profiles were analyzed in situ after excavating the graves. All graves were also instrumented with soil sensors for monitoring temporal changes in soil moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity in situ. Measurements of ERT, EM and GPR were repeated 3, 37, 71 and 185 days after burial with further repeated measurements planned for another twelve months. ERT results show an initial increase in resistivity in all graves including the control graves at 3 days after burial and a continuous decrease thereafter in the mass and individual graves with the strongest decrease in the mass grave. Conductivity distribution from the EM shows a similar trend to the ERT with an initial decrease in the first 3 days after burial. Distortion in linear reflectors, presence of small hyperbolas and isolated strong amplitude reflectors in the GPR profiles across the graves is associated with known locations of the graves. These initial results validate the capability of geoelectrical methods in detecting anomalies associated with disturbed ground and human decay while GPR though show some success is limited by the geology of the site.
在这项研究中，我们提出了一个实验设计，并评估了多种地球物理技术在使用人类自愿捐赠的尸体进行科学研究的情况下，对埋葬的人类遗骸进行整体和个体墓穴成像的能力。该研究是 2021 年 5 月建立的一个新的跨学科大规模墓地实验的一部分，该实验由一个有 6 具人类遗骸的大规模墓地、3 个个体墓地和 2 个挖掘尺寸与大规模墓地和个体墓地相同的空对照墓地组成。在建立墓地之前，我们进行了电阻率层析成像（ERT）、电磁（EM）和探地雷达（GPR）的背景测量，同时在挖掘墓地后原位分析了土壤剖面。所有的墓地都安装了土壤传感器，用于原位监测土壤水分、温度和电导率的时间变化。ERT、EM 和 GPR 的测量在埋葬后 3、37、71 和 185 天重复进行，计划在另外 12 个月内进行进一步的重复测量。ERT 结果显示，在所有的墓地，包括对照墓地，在埋葬后 3 天电阻率都有初始增加，随后在大规模和个体墓地中持续下降，而大规模墓地的下降幅度最大。从 EM 得到的电导率分布与 ERT 有相似的趋势，即在埋葬后的前 3 天内有初始下降。在墓地范围内的 GPR 剖面图中，线性反射体的扭曲、小双曲线的存在以及孤立的强振幅反射体与已知的墓地位置有关。这些初步结果验证了地球物理方法在探测与干扰地面和人类腐烂有关的异常方面的能力，而 GPR 虽然取得了一些成功，但受到了场地地质条件的限制。
