Obiettivo
Isotope ratios from light and heavy elements are used in provenancing studies in ecology, archaeology and forensic sciences to track the origin and movements of humans and animals. The isotopic composition in human and animal tissues, acquired through dietary intake has been shown to have a general correlation with the isotopic composition of the environment (i.e. drinking water, soil, pollution). In forensic sciences isotopic methods, mostly on light elements, have been recently applied to track the place of origin and recent movements of present-day humans in murder cases and in relation to terrorism. Used as forensic intelligence, the isotopic data has been combined with DNA to aid identification of murder victims. Despite the potential of the isotopic methods their application is still limited and the huge potential of combining multiple isotopic systems to provide provenance information is almost unrecognized. This proposal therefore aims to validate a multi-isotopic approach by combining isotopic ratios of both light and heavy elements. In this proposal we will measure H-O-C-N-S-Sr-Pb isotope ratios in human tissues, such as hair, teeth, bones and organs from human volunteers and from samples taken from autopsies in The Netherlands to validate the multi-isotope technique. The human isotopic data will be correlated with environmental isotopic data, such as drinking water, soil, street dust, etc. available from data bases and from samples collected around the country. After the validation of the multi-isotope method, we will apply the multi-isotopic technique on 3-5 blind studies. These studies are murder cases already solved by the NFI. This will allow us to determine the resolution of the multi-isotope method. Later the method will be applied to 3-5 unknown cases. This project aims to establish a robust routine technique that can be applied in forensic investigations to aid the identification of victims when other methodologies are not useful or have failed.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processesdrinking water treatment processes
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsDNA
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecology
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- medical and health sciencesother medical sciencesforensic sciences
Invito a presentare proposte
FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MC-ERG - European Re-integration Grants (ERG)Coordinatore
1081 HV Amsterdam
Paesi Bassi