Advances in Forensic Geophysics: Magnetic Susceptibility as a Tool for Environmental Forensic Geophysics

Abstract

Traditionally, forensic geophysics involves the study, search, localization, and mapping of buried objects or elements within soil, buildings, or water using geophysics tools for legal purposes. Recently, with the evolution of environmental crimes, forensic geophysics gave special care to detection, location, and quantification of polluting products. New techniques including the magnetic susceptibility have emerged to investigate this type of crimes. After discussing the state of the art of forensic geophysics, this chapter proposed the magnetic susceptibility as an efficient tool of environmental crimes detection. A case study of pollution detection was proposed from Tunisia. Being a fast and cheap technique, magnetic surveys represent a real promise for environmental forensic geophysics.