Environmental

Question 1

What are environmental specialist areas?

Answer 1

Palynology-pollen and spores
Macro plant ID- whole plants & ‘bits’
Vomitology- food remain from stomach contents or vomit
Sedimentology- soils and sediment
Entomology- flies and other insects
Techniques apply individually or collectively
Not always valid

Question 2

What can plants and soil as evidence show?

Answer 2

Evidence of contact
Evidence of duration
Trace evidence off scene or at scene
Corroborate other scientific techniques
Find buried remains, target search areas and rule out others

Question 3

What is evidence of contact?

Answer 3

Suspect/object with places

Question 4

What is evidence of duration?

Answer 4

Events, sequences, timings

Question 5

What are potential sources of sediment transfer?

Answer 5

Footprints and scuff marks
Tyre tracks
Plants damaged by suspect
Plant fragments/ pollen/ soil taken off site by suspect on clothing, tools & vehicles
Food/vomit (match to stomach contents) on site

Question 6

What is involved in site sampling?

Answer 6

Pollen/ soil samples are always taken if outside

Sampling done before site trampled/strimned

Question 7

How long does soft vegetation hold shape of something like a footprint?

Answer 7

A week

Question 8

What kind of local and regional input does pollen theory have on the profile?

Answer 8

Wind
Insect
Self pollinated

Question 9

What is the benefit of pollen theory?

Answer 9

Links suspect to locus type

Best corroborated by soil

Question 10

What sort of landscapes can pollen theory indicate?

Answer 10

Grassland
Moorland
Woodland

Question 11

What do wind pollinated plants show?

Answer 11

Released large amount of pollen
Includes many trees
Pollen widely dispersed 
Indicates vegetation of wider area
Not good for targeting specific sites
Smooth aerodynamic grains- tens of thousands (chance)
Regional component

Question 12

What do insect pollinated plants show?

Answer 12

Produce small amounts of pollen
Brightly coloured flowers
Includes many weeds
Fairly site specific, as pollen does not travel far
Pollen often sculptured to adhere to vector
Easier to identify bodies- smaller regions

Question 13

What do self-pollinated plants show?

Answer 13

Release trace amounts of pollen
Immediate/proximity required to collect pollen of these types
Cereals are self-pollinated

Question 14

What other factors are important in pollen theory?

Answer 14

Plants in flower are important
Rare plants/ vegetation important
Over-representation important
Seasonality
Top 2mm has most recent pollen

Question 15

What is the value of pollen evidence?

Answer 15

Target search areas

Site profile compared to victim, suspect, objects

Question 16

What are the issues with pollen evidence?

Answer 16

High contamination potential- search personnel, floral tributes
Validity drops quickly as time since crime lengthens (uncompromised)
Often ID only to type not species- different habitat requirements
Arbitrary

Question 17

What is soil analysis theory (Geoforensics)?

Answer 17

Soil transfer links people/ objects to locus
Clothing, weapons, tools, footprints, vehicles etc.
Soil from putative ‘grave’ can ID if corpse ever present
Corroborates other evidence, especially pollen
Like pollen, requires care to avoid contamination

Question 18

What makes soil identifiable?

Answer 18

Mineralogy of the area 
Geo-chemical composition
Structure
Stone content (round, sharp etc.)
Organic content (how much, what does it comprise of?)
Inclusions (e.g. coal spores, diatoms)
Stratigraphy (layers of soil)

Question 19

What analytical techniques are used in pollen theory?

Answer 19

Colour: good initial, Comparative tool
Particle size: laser-determined accuracy
Geo-chemical: phosphate, organic content (tell if body has been in empty grave)
Mineralogy: type/ shape/ size of minerals
Magnetic susceptibility: ID if soil burnt

Question 20

Who collects soil and pollen samples?

Answer 20

SOCO (Scene Of Crime Officers)

Question 21

What are control samples used for?

Answer 21

Vital for comparison

Question 22

What is required when storing pollen and soil samples?

Answer 22

Long term stable storage

Question 23

What is Macroplant remains (Forensic Botany)?

Answer 23

Plants have preferred habitats and life-stages
Helps ID suspicious changes to plants/vegetation
Vegetation damaged/covered/growing through graves give info on events and timings
Plants and fragments can ID seasonality and minimum deposition time
Timings

Question 24

What is Vomitology (Food in stomach/vomit)?

Answer 24

Recovered from the scene or PM
Majority of foods plant based
Stomach acid means contents unchanged until torso decays (weeks or months)
Last meal(s) can be determined
Digestive erosion and volume of food helps ID time since consumption
ID vomit can exclude victim and target a suspect

Question 25

How is stomach contents used as evidence?

Answer 25

Trace last movements (fast food agents, urban CTTV, till receipts etc)
Reduce window of death (days, weeks, hours)
Link victim to perpetrator
Yield lifestyle info about victim or perpetrator

Question 26

What do Forensic Entomologist (flies/insects) do?

Answer 26

Flies, insects and beetles colonise corpse at various, known times after death
Blow flies arrive within minutes- unless in fridge, freezer, bin, after 4 days can’t follow vapour trail
Times to complete life cycle depends on temperature
Life stages of each species are identifiable
Helps ID duration of remains

Question 27

Where do insects lay eggs in remains?

Answer 27

In any holes in skin e.g. shot wound, anus, stab wound

Question 28

What types of things can certain insects explain about death?

Answer 28

Blow flies grow faster with cocaine
Pupae 30 ft away from corpse- curtains, up trees, under carpets
Human DNA/ drugs from maggots
Maggots survive underwater briefly
Coffin larvae can jump 6ft