NCJ Number
17479
Date Published
1975
Length
232 pages
Annotation
A DESCRIPTION OF THE FORENSIC GEOLOGIST'S FUNCTION, THE TECHNIQUES HE UTILIZES, AND THE MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT HE MUST BE FAMILIAR WITH.
Abstract
'DIRT ON SHOES CAN OFTEN TELL US MORE ABOUT WHERE THE WEARER OF THOSE SHOES HAD LAST BEEN THAN TOILSOME INQUIRIES,' WROTE DR. HANS GROSS FOR HIS LANDMARK BOOK, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, PUBLISHED IN 1893. THE AUTHORS OF FORENSIC GEOLOGY CONCUR AS THEY ATTEMPT TO ACQUAINT THE READER WITH THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS FAST-MOVING FIELD. BEGINNING WITH THE BASIC INFORMATION ON THE ORIGIN, PROPERTIES, AND DISTRIBUTION OF EARTH MATERIALS, THE AUTHORS DISCUSS METHODS OF IDENTIFYING ROCKS, FOSSILS, SOILS, AND MINERALS, THE DIFFERENCES IN COMMERCIAL AND ARTIFICIAL EARTH MATERIALS, AND THE METHODS AND PROBLEMS OF SAMPLING AND TREATING THESE MATERIALS FOR ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON. LABORATORY EQUIPMENT USED IN FORENSIC WORK IS DESCRIBED AND THERE ARE NUMEROUS DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS ILLUSTRATING INSTRUMENTS USED AND THE METHODS OF USING THEM. THROUGHOUT THE BOOK THE AUTHORS CITE ACTUAL CASES IN WHICH GUILT OR INNOCENCE WAS ESTABLISHED, BURIED BODIES LOCATED, STOLEN PROPERTY TRACKED DOWN, AND EVEN A STILL CONCEALED IN A CHURCH BASEMENT DISCOVERED BY GEOLOGIC DETERMINATIONS. APPROXIMATELY 350 GEOLOGICAL TERMS ARE DEFINED IN A GLOSSARY, AND OTHER VALUABLE REFERENCE MATERIALS ARE CITED AT THE CONCLUSION OF EACH CHAPTER. (SNI ABSTRACT)