Geo-Provenance
Definition
The determination of geographic origin of a geological material based on its physical, mineralogical, or geochemical characteristics. The same concept that geologists use to trace the origin of a rock unit is applied to a soil sample on a boot.
- Field origin
- Geology, applied to forensic trace evidence
- Basis
- Physical, mineralogical, geochemical characteristics
- Example
- Soil trapped on footwear
- Related discipline
- Forensic geology
Common questions
What analyses support a geo-provenance determination?+
Analysts commonly use particle size distribution, mineral identification under polarized light microscopy, and geochemical techniques such as XRF or ICP-MS to characterize a sample against known geological references.
How precise can geo-provenance conclusions be?+
Precision depends on how geologically distinctive the region is; a sample from an unusual geological area can sometimes be narrowed to a small zone, while one from uniform terrain may only support inclusion or exclusion at a broad scale.
Is geo-provenance the same as directly comparing two soil samples?+
No, geo-provenance addresses where a sample likely originated using regional reference data, while a direct soil comparison tests whether two specific samples share a common source.
Related terms
- Comparative Mineralogy
- The systematic comparison of mineral assemblages from a questioned sample and a reference sample to assess whether they share the same geographic...
- Forensic Geology
- The application of geological sciences to legal and investigative problems, treating earth materials such as soil, rock, mineral, sediment, and dust as...
- Heavy-Mineral Suite
- The assemblage of high-specific-gravity minerals (greater than about 2.85 g/cm3) present in a sediment sample, typically including zircon, tourmaline, garnet, and hornblende....
- Polarised Light Microscopy (PLM)
- A microscopy technique in which polarised light is passed through a thin section or grain mount, revealing optical properties (birefringence, extinction angle,...
- Trace Evidence
- Small quantities of material transferred between people, objects, and locations during contact. Forensic geology focuses on the geological subset of trace evidence:...