Spectroscopic techniques applied to discriminate soils for forensic purposes
Luis Valério Prandel A , Vander Freitas Melo B , Samara Alves Testoni
B D , André Maurício Brinatti A , Sérgio da Costa Saab A and Lorna Anne Dawson C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Soil Physics and Environmental Sciences, Department of Physics, State University of Ponta Grossa, Av. Carlos Cavalcanti, 4748, 84.030-900, Ponta Grossa (PR), Brazil.
B Soil Science Department, Federal University of Paraná, Rua dos Funcionários, 1540, 80035-050, Curitiba (PR), Brazil.
C The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, Scotland.
D Corresponding author. Email: testonisamara@gmail.com
Soil Research 58(2) 151-160 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR19066
Submitted: 21 March 2019 Accepted: 15 November 2019 Published: 12 December 2019
Abstract
Soils are a complex mixture with a variety of mineralogical, chemical, biological and physical properties, which can be explored within forensic case work. This study aimed to apply energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic techniques to discriminate soil samples collected in southern Brazil in a forensic context. Four replicates of soil were collected at four sites: two sites from the same parent material (claystone) and two other sites from limestone and granite/gneiss respectively. The physical and chemical (organic and mineral composition) and spectroscopic techniques (EDXRF and FTIR) produced 16 quantitative variables from only 2 g of sample. The main results from a forensic context were the separation of the soils collected from close neighbourhoods developed on the same parent material and the separation of soils collected in the A and B horizons of the same soil profile. The highest degree of similarity in the clustering of samples collected at the same site was 98.6% (B horizon in claystone domain). In addition to the parent material, the effect of organic matter on the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the A horizon was important in the grouping dynamics of samples. This work demonstrated the potential of spectroscopic techniques in a forensic context.
Additional keywords: forensic sciences, Fourier transform infrared, principal components analysis, soil vestiges, X-ray fluorescence.
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