Nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide patterns and dynamics from an experimental pig mass grave

Determining the location of clandestine burials is difficult and modern searches often rely on a variety of methods from cadaver dogs [5] to remote sensing [11]. Complementary analyses have also focused on characterizing the products of human cadaver and animal carcass decomposition [1,6,16,15]. Studies that describe the suite of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released through the decomposition process of human remains also reference the production of gases such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) [4,7].
Source: Forensic Science International - Category: Forensic Medicine Authors: Source Type: research