A Mineralogical Soil Classification Technique for the Forensic Scientist

Abstract Mineral grains form the largest component of most soils. These grains are quite stable and undergo no significant change over the periods of time in which the forensic scientist is normally interested. In most naturally occurring soils, there is a large variety of different minerals whose relative proportions vary from one area to another [1,2]. These factors make the mineralogy of soils an attractive property for the forensic scientist to investigate.