Scene Correction Factor
Definition
A temperature offset derived by comparing data-logger readings at the scene with concurrent weather-station readings, then applied retrospectively to station historical data to reconstruct the scene temperature during the colonisation window.
- Purpose
- Adjust weather-station data to scene conditions
- Derived from
- Data-logger vs weather-station comparison
- Applied to
- Historical station temperature records
- Used in
- Accumulated degree day/hour PMI estimates
Common questions
Why not just use raw weather station data for PMI estimation?+
A weather station can be kilometres from the scene and record a different microclimate, so without a correction factor the accumulated degree day calculation can be systematically off, skewing the post-mortem interval estimate.
How long does a data logger need to run to derive a reliable correction factor?+
Longer concurrent logging periods that span varying weather conditions produce a more stable offset; a very short overlap risks capturing an atypical temperature difference that does not hold across the full colonisation window.
Related terms
- Accumulated Degree Days (ADD)
- The sum of daily mean temperatures above a threshold (usually 0 °C) over a period of interest. Used as a measure of...
- Accumulated Degree Hours (ADH)
- A temperature-corrected measure of developmental time. Calculated by summing (hourly ambient temperature minus the species-specific base temperature threshold) across the period of...
- Base (Lower Developmental) Threshold
- The temperature below which an insect species does not develop. For forensically important blow flies in temperate regions this typically ranges from...
- Thermal-Summation Model
- The linear model that relates insect development rate to temperature above a threshold. Development rate increases in proportion to the excess temperature;...
- Upper Developmental Threshold
- The temperature above which development decelerates. Between base and upper threshold the thermal-summation model is approximately linear; outside this range it breaks...