Traces of the Dead: Remote Sensing for Human Detection Past, Present, and Future Directions

Here is a links to all papers that were referenced in my talk at ASPRS Mid-South 2024:

References:

  1. Berezowski, V., Moffat, I., Shendryk, Y., MacGregor, D., Ellis, J., & Mallett, X. (2022). A multidisciplinary approach to locating clandestine gravesites in cold cases: Combining geographic profiling, LiDAR, and near surface geophysics. Forensic Science International: Synergy, 5, 100281. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2022.100281

  2. Silván-Cárdenas, J. L., Caccavari-Garza, A., Quinto-Sánchez, M. E., Madrigal-Gómez, J. M., Coronado-Juárez, E., & Quiroz-Suarez, D. (2021). Assessing optical remote sensing for grave detection. Forensic Science International, 329, 111064. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.111064

  3. Butters, O., Krosch, M. N., Roberts, M., & MacGregor, D. (2021). Application of forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imaging from an unmanned aerial platform in the search for decomposing remains. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 66(1), 347-355. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14581

Further Readings:

  1. Butters O, Krosch MN, Roberts M, MacGregor D. Application of forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imaging from an unmanned aerial platform in the search for decomposing remains. J Forensic Sci. 2021; 66: 347–355. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14581.

  2. Statheropoulos, M., Agapiou, A., Spiliopoulou, C., Pallis, G. C., & Sianos, E. (2007). Environmental aspects of VOCs evolved in the early stages of human decomposition. Science of The Total Environment, 385(1), 221-227. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.07.003

  3. Pringle, J. K., Ruffell, A., Jervis, J. R., Donnelly, L., McKinley, J., Hansen, J., Morgan, R., Pirrie, D., & Harrison, M. (2012). The use of geoscience methods for terrestrial forensic searches. Earth-Science Reviews, 114(1), 108-123. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.05.006

  4. Schultz, J.J., Collins, M.E. and Falsetti, A.B. (2006), Sequential Monitoring of Burials Containing Large Pig Cadavers Using Ground-Penetrating Radar. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 51: 607-616. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00129.x

  5. Kalacska, M. E., Bell, L. S., Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa, G., & Caelli, T. (2009). The Application of Remote Sensing for Detecting Mass Graves: An Experimental Animal Case Study from Costa Rica*. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 54(1), 159-166. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00938.x

  6. Daniel J. Wescott, Recent Advances in Forensic Anthropology: Decomposition Research, Forensic Sciences Research, Volume 3, Issue 4, December 2018, Pages 278–293, https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2018.1488571

  7. Al-Naji, A., Perera, A. G., Mohammed, S. L., & Chahl, J. (2019). Life Signs Detector Using a Drone in Disaster Zones. Remote Sensing, 11(20), 2441. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/20/2441

  8. Barone, P. M., Matsentidi, D., Mollard, A., Kulengowska, N., & Mistry, M. (2022). Mapping Decomposition: A Preliminary Study of Non-Destructive Detection of Simulated body Fluids in the Shallow Subsurface. Forensic Sciences, 2(4), 620-634. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6756/2/4/46

  9. Brabazon, H., DeBruyn, J. M., Lenaghan, S. C., Li, F., Mundorff, A. Z., Steadman, D. W., & Stewart, C. N. (2020). Plants to Remotely Detect Human Decomposition? Trends in Plant Science, 25(10), 947-949. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2020.07.013

  10. Corcoran, K. A., Mundorff, A. Z., White, D. A., & Emch, W. L. (2018). A novel application of terrestrial LIDAR to characterize elevation change at human grave surfaces in support of narrowing down possible unmarked grave locations. Forensic Science International, 289, 320-328. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.05.038

  11. Bucheli, S.R., Pan, Z., Glennie, C.L. et al. Terrestrial laser scanning to model sunlight irradiance on cadavers under conditions of natural decomposition. Int J Legal Med 128, 725–732 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-014-1013-1

  12. Corcoran, Katie Ann, "A Characterization of Human Burial Signatures using Spectroscopy and LIDAR. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2016.
    https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4090

  13. Brown et al., iScience 26, 106353 April 21, 2023 ª 2023 The Author(s). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106353

  14. Deel, H., Emmons, A. L., Kiely, J., Damann, F. E., Carter, D. O., Lynne, A., Knight, R., Xu, Z. Z., Bucheli, S., & Metcalf, J. L. (2021). A Pilot Study of Microbial Succession in Human Rib Skeletal Remains during Terrestrial Decomposition. mSphere, 6(4), 10.1128/msphere.00455-00421. https://doi.org/doi:10.1128/msphere.00455-21

  15. Rocke, B., & Ruffell, A. (2022). Detection of Single Burials Using Multispectral Drone Data: Three Case Studies. Forensic Sciences, 2(1), 72-87. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6756/2/1/6

  16. Butters, O., Krosch, M. N., Roberts, M., & MacGregor, D. (2021). Application of forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imaging from an unmanned aerial platform in the search for decomposing remains. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 66(1), 347-355. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14581

  17. Soren Blau, Jon Sterenberg, Patrick Weeden, Fernando Urzedo, Richard Wright, Chris Watson, Exploring Non-Invasive Approaches to Assist in the Detection of Clandestine Human Burials: Developing a Way Forward, Forensic Sciences Research, Volume 3, Issue 4, December 2018, Pages 320–342, https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2018.1493809

  18. Lone, K., Loe, L. E., Gobakken, T., Linnell, J. D. C., Odden, J., Remmen, J., & Mysterud, A. (2014). Living and dying in a multi-predator landscape of fear: roe deer are squeezed by contrasting pattern of predation risk imposed by lynx and humans. Oikos, 123(6), 641-651. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00938.x

  19. Rosier, E., Loix, S., Develter, W., Van de Voorde, W., Tytgat, J., & Cuypers, E. (2015). The Search for a Volatile Human Specific Marker in the Decomposition Process. PLOS ONE, 10(9), e0137341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137341

  20. Murray, B., Anderson, D. T., Wescott, D. J., Moorhead, R., & Anderson, M. F. (2018). Survey and Insights into Unmanned Aerial-Vehicle-Based Detection and Documentation of Clandestine Graves and Human Remains. Human Biology, 90(1), 45-61, 17. https://doi.org/10.13110/humanbiology.90.1.03

  21. Herzog, C. (2014). A study of the effects of cadaveric decomposition on hyperspectral signatures of soil and vegetation (Order No. 28521096). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2564078231). Retrieved from https://utk.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/study-effects-cadaveric-decomposition-on/docview/2564078231/se-2

  22. Berezowski, V., Moffat, I., Shendryk, Y., MacGregor, D., Ellis, J., & Mallett, X. (2022). A multidisciplinary approach to locating clandestine gravesites in cold cases: Combining geographic profiling, LiDAR, and near surface geophysics. Forensic Science International: Synergy, 5, 100281. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2022.100281

  23. Somma, R., & Costa, N. (2022). Unraveling Crimes with Geology: As Geological and Geographical Evidence Related to Clandestine Graves May Assist the Judicial System. Geosciences, 12(9), 339. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/12/9/339

References & Further Readings