Spatial distribution of stable isotopes as a tool in forensic investigation

VALENZUELA, LUCIANO O

La Plata

Seminario; 3rd Iberoamerican Seminar on Forensic Geosciences; 2017

International Union of Geological Sciences, Initiative on Forensic Geology

Assigning human remains to a specic region or population of origin is of utmost importance in forensic investigations. Stable isotope (SI) analysis of human tissues offers a tool to enhance the biological prole and reconstruct the movements of unidentied decedents, as well as to exclude possible matches and narrow search areas. The stable isotope composition of drinking water and foods are reflected in our bodies, recording geographic and dietary information. The capability to use SI as a provenancing tool depends on a thorough knowledge of their spatial distribution and the quality of the data used in building the foundational predictive models. Here we present geographic patterns of SI distribution to discuss their use in forensic analyses. We focused rst on how O and H isotope ratios vary across the landscape and how a process-based model developed for the USA can be applied to predict geographical origin of samples. Second, we present the spatial distributions of dietary isotopes (C, N, S) that could be used to distinguish regions, populations and individuals