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. 2020 May 5;10:7544. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64262-3

Table 1.

Generalised summary of GPR and Electrical Resistivity (ERM and ERI) effectiveness to detect a homicide victim in a clandestine grave, based on this and other studies.

Geophysical method Burial style Post-burial period
Weeks Weeks-Months <1 Year 1–2 Years 2–3 Years 3–4 Years 4–10 Years
GPR low (110) frequency Naked ● ● ● graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figa_HTML.gif ○ ○ ○
Wrapped ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
GPR medium (225–450) frequency Naked ● ● graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figb_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figc_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figd_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Fige_HTML.gif ○
Wrapped ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
GPR high (900) frequency Naked graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figf_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figg_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figh_HTML.gif ○ ○ ○ ○
Wrapped ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Electrical resistivity mapping (ERM) Naked ● graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figi_HTML.gif ● ● ● ● ○
Wrapped ● graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figj_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figk_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figl_HTML.gif ● ● ●
Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) Naked ● ● graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figm_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Fign_HTML.gif ● ● ○
Wrapped graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figo_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figp_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figq_HTML.gif graphic file with name 41598_2020_64262_Figr_HTML.gif ● ● ●

Key: Good ●; Medium Inline graphic; Poor ○; chances of success. Note this table does not differentiate between target size, burial depth / styles, other depositional environments (see12,70) and other important case-specific factors.