An experiment in the Saanich Inlet has provided new insight on how dissolved oxygen levels affect the marine scavengers that determine the fate of decomposing bodies (Photo credit: SFU University Communications, via Flickr)
A new study indicates that dissolved oxygen has a big impact on how bodies decay underwater, a finding that could help in forensic investigations.
Researchers deployed three pig carcasses outside the Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS), a cabled underwater laboratory with underwater cameras and sensors to record oxygen levels, temperature, pressure, salinity, density and other factors every minute. Two of the carcasses were stripped by scavengers within a month of being deployed.
The third carcass was deployed at a time of extremely low oxygen, which kept out many of the larger scavengers, and lasted several months. Such studies can help forensic investigators determine how long bodies have been under water.
Original research paper published in PLoS ONE on October 20, 2014.
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