It can be crucial to know the effectiveness of particular geophysical detection techniques when trying to locate clandestine burials of murder victims. . Unlike in archaeology, there has been limited forensic research with regard to optimum methodologies, with most emphasis to-date on metal detectors and Ground Penetrating Radar by forensic search teams. This may not be suitable in certain soil types, non-metal targets or in significant search areas. Therefore in this study, magnetic and electrical resistivity detection techniques have been utilised over different-aged (0.25 -1 year) simulated clandestine burials with no buried metal, in contrasting depositional environments. These environments included semi-rural, urban, woodland and parkland, the parkland Medieval grave site acting as a control.The magnetic surveys showed mixed success of detecting clandestine burials.Elevated magnetic gradient readings, with respect to background values, were observed over very shallow burials, whereas deeper burials displayed a reduction in gradient and/or no associated magnetic anomalies. Magnetic anomalies were observed over surface-burials and validated by simple 2D forward modelling.Magnetic anomalies were also observed in the control dataset. Electrical resistivity surveys produced anomalies over all the simulated burial positions, including surface burials, but it did not produce anomalies at the control site.Laboratory analysis of simulated grave 'fluid' showed an overall increase in iron levels over a year post-burial (from xx to xx) which may account for the observed 3 magnetic anomaly variation. There was also a corresponding increase in grave 'fluid' conductivity which was interpreted to cause the observed resistivity anomalies.Study results have important implications for use of geophysical techniques when searching for clandestine burials. Local depositional environment, soil type, likely style of burial and search area size should all be considered when choosing forensic geophysical detection techniques. Geophysical data could locate a primary deposition site even though no physical evidence remains.4
The Mississippian North Wales Platform is located on the margins of the East Irish Sea Basin and has been little studied over the last 30 years. The exposed Visean limestones provide new insights into the deposition, porosity evolution, distribution of dolomitization, and Pb-Zn and Cu mineralization on the North Wales carbonate platform. This is of relevance to the characterization of fault-related dolomite hydrocarbon reservoirs and age-equivalent Mississippi Valley-type mineral deposits. In particular, the study demonstrates the intimate relationship between sedimentation, basin-scale tectonism and postdepositional fluid flux. Depositional cyclicity is marked, with metre-scale upward-shallowing cycles in which pervasive marine and meteoric calcite cements occlude matrix porosity and syndepositional fractures. Consequently, subsequent burial diagenetic replacive dolomitization is matrix selective and cements are primarily restricted to fractures. Seven phases of dolomite are defined based on texture and cathodoluminescence petrography, with phases D1-D3 as the most volumetrically significant. Dolomite phases D0-D2 are matrix replacive, cross-cutting stratigraphy and locally fingering along beds for several metres. Dolomite phases D3-D7 are hosted by faults and fractures and also line vugs. Evidence of telogenesis is recorded where burial diagenetic products are post-dated by calcite cements precipitated from meteoric fluids. Dolomitization probably occurred during the Mississippian and continued into the Pennsylvanian. Pb-Zn mineralization is also interpreted to have occurred during the Pennsylvanian, associated with Variscan tectonism. Overall, the North Wales Platform displays a more complex paragenesis than age-equivalent platforms in the Pennine Basin, owing to multiple phases of burial and exhumation. The study demonstrates the importance of linking burial history to detailed field and petrographical data to understand and predict the spatial and temporal controls on diagenetic processes and products within syn-and post-rift sequences.
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