Forensic geology

Forensic geology is the study of evidence relating to materials found in the Earth used to answer questions raised by the legal system.

In 1975, Ray Murray and fellow Rutgers University professor John Tedrow published Forensic Geology.^[1]

The main use of forensic geology as it is applied today is regarding trace evidence. By examining the soil and sediment particles forensic geologists can potentially link a suspect to a particular crime or a particular crime scene.

Forensic geologists work with many other disciplines of science such as medicine, biology, geography, and engineering amongst others.^[2]

In 2008, Alastair Ruffell and Jennifer McKinley, both of Queen's University Belfast, published Geoforensics^[3] a book that focuses more on the use of geomorphology and geophysics for searches. In 2010, forensic soil scientist Lorna Dawson of the James Hutton Institute co-edited and contributed chapters to the textbook Criminal and Environmental Soil Forensics.^[4] In 2012, Elisa Bergslien, at SUNY Buffalo State, published a general textbook on the topic, An Introduction to Forensic Geoscience.^[5]

^ Murray, Raymond C. and Tedrow, John C. F. (1975) Forensic Geology: Earth sciences and criminal investigation Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-8135-0794-1; second edition 1992, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-13-327453-0; replaced by Murray, Raymond C. (2004) Evidence from the Earth: Forensic geology and criminal investigation Mountain Press Publications, Missoula, Montana, ISBN 978-0-87842-498-6
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ruffell, Alastair and McKinley, Jennifer (2008) Geoforensics John Wiley and Sons, West Sussex, England, ISBN 978-0-470-05735-3
^ Criminal and environmental soil forensics. K. Ritz, Lorna Dawson, David Miller. Dordrecht. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4020-9204-6. OCLC 314175891.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
^ Bergslien, Elisa (2012) An Introduction to Forensic Geoscience Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex, England, UK, ISBN 978-1-4051-6054-4

[1] Murray, Raymond C. and Tedrow, John C. F. (1975) Forensic Geology: Earth sciences and criminal investigation Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-8135-0794-1; second edition 1992, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-13-327453-0; replaced by Murray, Raymond C. (2004) Evidence from the Earth: Forensic geology and criminal investigation Mountain Press Publications, Missoula, Montana, ISBN 978-0-87842-498-6

[:0-2] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] Ruffell, Alastair and McKinley, Jennifer (2008) Geoforensics John Wiley and Sons, West Sussex, England, ISBN 978-0-470-05735-3

[4] Criminal and environmental soil forensics. K. Ritz, Lorna Dawson, David Miller. Dordrecht. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4020-9204-6. OCLC 314175891.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)

[5] Bergslien, Elisa (2012) An Introduction to Forensic Geoscience Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex, England, UK, ISBN 978-1-4051-6054-4

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