Table Of ContentSoil Forensics
Mariano Mercurio
Alessio Langella
Rosa Maria Di Maggio
Piergiulio Cappelletti Editors
Mineralogical
Analysis
Applied
to Forensics
A Guidance on Mineralogical Techniques
and Their Application to the Forensic
Field
Soil Forensics
Series Editor
Patrick Randolph-Quinney, Dept. of Appl. Sc., Fac. of Health & L.S,
Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Soil Forensics aims to provide a transdisciplinary overview of all relevant forensic
fields which interact with the soil environment and Earth-system processes. This
includes disciplines such as forensic archaeology, forensic taphonomy and
anthropology, geophysics and remote sensing, forensic geology and soil science,
forensic ecology, and environmental forensics. Volumes in the series are intended to
stimulate multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches at the interface of
forensics and the many sub-disciplines in Earth Sciences, Archaeology and others,
such as traditional soil science, palynology, geochemistry, biogeochemistry,
sedimentology, field archaeology, archaeological prospection, and taphonomy. The
series will include investigation into:
• Human taphonomy and experimental decomposition studies
• Experimental standards development and validation
• Violation of the environment (chemical exposure, pollution, illegal mining)
• Search, detection, identification, and recovery of human remains in soil context
• New methods and techniques in soil forensics such as proteomics, magnetic sur-
veys, electrical imaging techniques, and UAV-based spectroscopy and
remote sensing
• Application of AI and Machine learning approaches to complex forensic issues
• 3D and 4D modelling, visualization, and spatial analyses (including the use of
Geographical Information Systems)
• Stratigraphy, stratification and soil context
• Linking research-based knowledge to the community of action, with a focus on
knowledge transfer and practice-informed research
• Degradation studies of organic and inorganic anthropogenic materials in soils.
The Soil Forensics Series was originally developed by the late Professor Henk Kars
from the Institute of Geo- and Bioarchaeology at VU University Amsterdam. The
current Series Editor and Editorial Board will continue to adhere to the inter-
disciplinary interplay between the sciences and humanities that distinguished
Professor Kars’ academic career.
Mariano Mercurio • Alessio Langella
Rosa Maria Di Maggio • Piergiulio Cappelletti
Editors
Mineralogical Analysis
Applied to Forensics
A Guidance on Mineralogical Techniques
and Their Application to the Forensic Field
Editors
Mariano Mercurio Alessio Langella
Department of Science & Technology Department of Earth, Environmental and
Sannio University Resources Sciences (DiSTAR)
Benevento, Italy Federico II University
Napoli, Italy
Rosa Maria Di Maggio
Forensic Geoscience Italy Piergiulio Cappelletti
Geoscienze Forensi Italia® Department of Earth, Environmental and
Roma, Italy Resources Sciences (DiSTAR)
Federico II University
Napoli, Italy
ISSN 2214-4293 ISSN 2214-4315 (electronic)
Soil Forensics
ISBN 978-3-031-08833-9 ISBN 978-3-031-08834-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08834-6
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
This book, edited by an experienced group of scientists from a diverse and comple-
mentary range of backgrounds, is a wonderful collection of papers from a range of
very important areas in the application of minerals pertaining to the law. It discusses
the main approaches which can be used in the examination, characterisation and
comparison of minerals, whether as part of a rock sample or minerals within a soil.
Soil forensic investigations often involves the collection of soil samples from a
crime scene location and the recovery of soil from a questioned item, such as boots,
vehicles or tools, followed by a process of soil description, characterisation and the
application of appropriate analysis. Integration and extrapolation of the soil infor-
mation can then be scaled up to build a coherent model of soil information – from
the initial trace sample observations to the landscape scale, which often involves
soil/geological/land cover maps and geographical information systems (GIS) and
appropriate evaluation of the ensuing results. Established concepts and standardised
approaches in geology and mineralogy are vitally important in the appropriate
application of geology within the criminal justice systems worldwide, and our
global safety and security depends upon the sharing of best practices and collabora-
tion. Such quality best practice approaches can also apply to the application of
forensic mineralogy in field, wildlife, art, ballistics and drug crime.
This book features both advantages and disadvantages of a range of inorganic
methods that can be adopted and recommends when and where to use the different
approaches. Type of sample, size and type of analysis method, whether the method
is destructive or non-destructive, sampling procedures, and analytical conditions
and accreditation are discussed. The chapters focus on analytical approaches using
optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy,
Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, STA1 and much more. In addition, this
book illustrates the academic text with actual case examples, putting into context
many of the procedures recommended. Studies on criminal offenses against per-
sons, environment and cultural heritage are illustrated.
1 Simultaneous thermal analysis.
v
vi Preface
This book is primarily of use to the academic population, as well as practising
geo scientists, with some information also of use for servants of the criminal justice
system, in particular, in those countries with an inquisitorial system.
This well-written publication illustrates how excellent strategic science applied
across many scientific disciplines can assist in both the investigation of crime and
its use as evidence in court, and can make our criminal justice systems safer, no
matter which legal jurisdiction or which part of the world we live in. A ‘must have’
volume for the shelves of a forensic geologist’s library.
The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland - IUGS Lorna Dawson
Initiative on Forensic Geology
Aberdeen, Scotland
Contents
1 Optical Microscopy Applied to Forensics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Rosa Maria Di Maggio and Fábio Augusto da Silva Salvador
2 X-ray Diffractometry in Forensic Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Piergiulio Cappelletti, Sossio Fabio Graziano, and David L. Bish
3 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in Forensic Geoscience . . . . . 61
Paola Petrosino, Duncan Pirrie, Licia Santoro,
and Roberto de Gennaro
4 Infrared Spectroscopy and Application to Forensics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Giuseppina Balassone, Dominik Talla, Anton Beran,
and Fabio Bellatreccia
5 Raman Spectroscopy and Forensic Mineralogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
G. Diego Gatta, Luciana Mantovani, and Geoffrey D. Bromiley
6 ICP-MS – Fundamentals and Application to Forensic Science . . . . . 171
Silvestro Antonio Ruffolo, Donatella Barca,
Monica Alvarez de Buergo, and Mauro Francesco La Russa
7 Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA): A Powerful Tool
for Forensic Investigation of Geomaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Mariano Mercurio, Francesco Izzo, Alessio Langella, and
Binoy Sarkar
8 X-Ray Fluorescence: Chemical Characterization
of Materials by X-Ray Spectrometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Pasquale Acquafredda and F. Javier Huertas
vii
viii Contents
9 Isotopic Analysis Techniques Applied to Forensics:
New Frontiers of Isotope Geochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Massimo D’Antonio, Valeria Di Renzo, Ilenia Arienzo,
and David Widory
10 Image Analysis in Forensic Mineralogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Chiara Germinario and Celestino Grifa
Contributors
Pasquale Acquafredda Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali,
Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
Centro Interdipartimentale “Laboratorio di Ricerca per la Diagnostica dei Beni
Culturali”, Campus Universitario, Bari, Italy
Ilenia Arienzo Sezione Osservatorio Vesuviano, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e
Vulcanologia (INGV), Sez. Osservatorio Vesuviano, Napoli, Italy
Giuseppina Balassone Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle
Risorse (DiSTAR), Università Federico II, Napoli, Italy
Donatella Barca Dipartimento di Biologia, Ecologia e Scienze della Terra,
Università della Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
Fabio Bellatreccia Dipartimento di Scienze, Sez. Scienze Geologiche, Università
Roma Tre, Roma, Italy
Anton Beran Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallographie, Universität Wien,
Wien, Austria
David L. Bish Molecular Structure Center, Indiana University, Bloomington,
IN, USA
Geoffrey D. Bromiley School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant
Institute, Edinburgh, UK
Piergiulio Cappelletti Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle
Risorse (DiSTAR), Università Federico II di Napoli, Napoli, Italy
Massimo D’Antonio Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle
Risorse (DiSTAR), Università Federico II, Napoli, Italy
Fábio Augusto da Silva Salvador Federal Police of Brazil, Curitiba, Brazil
IUGS Initiative on Forensic Geology, Curitiba, Brazil
ix
