Geochemical analysis of sediment samples for forensic purposes: characterisation of two river beaches from the Douro River, Portugal

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2020

Autores

Madureira Carvalho, A (Autor) Outra; Ribeiro, H (Autor) FCUP; Newman, G (Autor) Outra; Brewer Mark, MJ (Autor) Outra; Guedes, A (Autor) FCUP; Abreu, I (Autor) FCUP; Noronha, F (Autor) FCUP; Dawson, L (Autor) Outra

Revista

Título: Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences

Vol. 52

Páginas: 222-234

ISSN: 0045-0618

Editora: Taylor & Francis

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citações

Scopus - 4 Citações

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-00P-TQ0

DOI: 10.1080/00450618.2018.1533037

Abstract (EN): In the context of the forensic sciences, geochemical data can give important information as to the sample origin or help to refine and narrow the probable origin. The current study employs geochemical data with multivariate analyses to examine the potential of some elements usually employed in environmental studies (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn and Mn) in the spatial and temporal discrimination of sediment samples from two river beaches. For one year, samples were collected along profiles perpendicular to the river and analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). This study shows that the geochemical analysis allows the discrimination of two river beaches with similar geo-environmental context and also discrimination between samples along the profiles from the same beach. In each beach profile the majority of the analysed elements did not show significant differences between each season of the year, showing that seasonality may not affect that identification of source. Results show that the geochemical signature is very specific to each area and therefore useful to establish the provenance of a questioned sample. This could also be useful for the determination of assignment of environmental contamination.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 13