Geoforensics and Information Management for crime Investigation (GIMI)

Project Staff - Barry Rawlins

Dr. Barry Rawlins BSc, PhD.

Environmental Geochemist and forensic geoscientist
British Geological Survey
Keyworth, Nottingham
Notts  NG2 6JJ UK

bgr@bgs.ac.uk
www.bgs.ac.uk

Phone: (0)131 650 4877
Fax: (0)131 650 6553

Current research activities

Dr Rawlins is a Senior Scientific Officer in BGS, with specilisation in Forensic geoscience, spatial statistics, soil and freshwater geochemistry, sampling, uncertainty estimation

Dr Rawlins’ speciality is in the collection, presentation and interpretation of geochemical baseline data for soils, stream water and sediments throughout the UK, and internationally. His specific areas of research include development and application of methods in forensic geoscience, freshwater pollution (eutrophication and acidification), deficiency / toxicity of trace elements in soils, the application of geostatistics to understand the controls on soil geochemistry in the UK using geo(statistics). During the last five years he has published several papers on the geochemistry of the UK landmass. Dr Rawlins has also undertaken work on international geochemistry projects, combining fieldwork and analysis of geochemical data on behalf of DFID (Brazil, Argentina, Trinidad) and the World Bank (Zambia). Dr Rawlins has acted as a consultant to UNEP on land-based sources of pollution

Current research activities includes:

• Geochemical baseline survey of the UK environment http://www.bgs.ac.uk/gbase/
• Soil contamination in England and Wales http://www.bgs.ac.uk/soilwork/
• Development of Capability in forensic geo-science at the British Geological Survey www.bgs.ac.uk/forensicgeology/

Related Publications

Rawlins, B. G., Kemp, S. et al. (in press) Potential and pitfalls of establishing the provenance of earth related samples in forensic investigations. Journal of Forensic Sciences.

Rawlins, B G. and Cave, M, (editors), 2004. Investigating multi-element soil geochemical signatures and their potential for use in forensic studies. Forensic Geoscience: Principles, Techniques and Applications. No. 232. (London: Geological Society.)