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Decomposition Rate of Different Part of Body in Rasau Series Soils
Noor Nadia Binti Noordin
Supervisor: Dr. Siti Sofo Binti Ismail
Co-Supervisor: Dr. Tuan Nurul Sabiqah Tuan Anuar
Bachelor of Science (Analytical and Environmental Chemistry)
School of Marine and Environmental Science
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Locating clandestine grave and determining post mortem interval (PMI) can be difficult
especially for a highly decomposed body. Therefore, the cadaveric lipids that
potentially be introduced into underneath soil were identified to be established as
‘burial biomarkers’ due to their high resistance towards degradation and remain longer
within the soil.. Therefore, a simulated burial experiment was conducted to elucidate
and identify the components of cadaveric lipids that may be introduced at five
decomposition stages. The pig fatty flesh was buried in Rasau series soils of Taman
Penyelidikan Alam Bukit Kor, Marang and allowed to decompose for a particular burial
interval. Then, the associated soils were sampled at 15 different sampling points,
corresponding to the different stages of decomposition process. The postexperimental
soil pH shows the changes from acidic to alkaline in earlier stages but
slowly decrease to acidic towards the end of burial interval. The rate of decomposition
was high initially and slow down gradually till the end of decomposition stages.
1952 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018