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Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H OAP, UK ncameron{at}geog.ucl.ac.uk
Diatoms are unicellular, siliceous algae that are common in most aquatic environments. Their species composition is strongly related to water quality and aquatic habitats and, because of their silica skeletons, diatom valves can be well preserved and provide a record of past and present environmental conditions. Diatom remains are often diverse and can be identified with high taxonomic precision. These factors allow diatoms to be used in a range of applications in forensic geoscience. These include: the matching of environmental samples with items that have been in contact with water, the investigation of cases of drowning, and the identification of traces of diatomaceous materials used in the manufacture of materials or liquids. Recent developments include an assessment of the potential to use the succession of colonizing, attached diatom species in the determination of time of death. Advances in analytical quality control and the use of multivariate statistical techniques will improve the analysis, presentation and interpretation of diatom data in forensic investigations.
