Forensic Geologist

Forensic geoscience is an expanding field and advances in chemical analytical techniques can reveal detailed information through soil analysis (Morgan and Bull, 2007). The processes associated with body decomposition outdoors can create biochemical alterations of soil on which it lies.  Autolysis and putrefaction will result in decompositional fluids passing into the soil and generally present increased microbial mass and activity in the soil.  Analysis of the soil nutrients has the potential to estimate extended PMI.  This is particularly useful in confirming the presence of decomposed remains where scavenging has moved remains from their original site of deposition (Benninger et al, 2008).