A review of human decomposition in marine environments

Abstract

Drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death globally, however, many individuals who lose their lives at sea are never recovered or identified. Along with the geographic challenges posed by the underwater environment, environmental conditions influence the degradation and preservation of submerged remains. Understanding how human bodies decompose in the marine environment can assist with more accurate estimations of the postmortem submersion interval, reconstruction of the postmortem history, and determination of the original deposition environment, as well as prepare recovery teams and their families for what to expect upon locating the deceased in a marine environment. In this review, previous research surrounding human remains in the marine environment is reviewed with a focus on the factors that will influence decomposition of the human body from initial submergence to skeletonization. Experimental research, retrospective analyses, and case studies are brought together in this paper to demonstrate the currently available knowledge on marine decomposition. It is suggested that further systematic research is necessary to create robust evidentiary standards to develop context-specific knowledge on which to base future forensic investigations and assist with the recovery and identification of submerged individuals.