Police stand to benefit from new research at Adelaide University which aims to find the best methods for detecting human skeletal remains in the unique Australian environment.
The work-conducted by PhD student Ms Kathy Powell and her colleagues in the Department of Anatomical Sciences-has enormous implications for Australian police.
The results will assist police to locate missing people who may have met with foul play, such as in murder cases which remain "open" because no body has been found.
Ms Powell's research is believed to be among the first of its kind in Australia, and is significant because it focuses purely on locating bodies in Australian conditions.
Early findings from a mock gravesite maintained at the University's Roseworthy Campus have been encouraging. Ms Powell buried dead kangaroos and pigs at various sites to test the latest mineral exploration technologies from around the world, including ground-penetrating radar and 3D laser imaging devices.
"Ground-penetrating radar has become very popular recently but it has its limitations, with tree roots being virtually undistinguishable from skeletal remains," Ms Powell says.
"Many of the geophysical instruments that have potential are used primarily for mineral exploration. They're not constructed for shallow burials, but I'm hoping they can be adapted for this purpose."
A critical component of her research is time-time for the bodies to decay-as Ms Powell is detecting skeletal remains and not decomposing bodies. Changes in the soil surface are also being monitored to see if they give a reliable indication of graves.
"Preliminary findings reveal that, unlike overseas police case studies, in Australia there is very little compaction of the soil, which in turn leaves no telltale depressions in the soil," she says.
"In winter, vegetation regrowth makes it extremely difficult to detect any potential skeletal remains, so seasonal factors
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Contact: Kathy Powell
ben.osborne@adelaide.edu.au
61-8-8204-2871
Adelaide University
18-Jul-2000