ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 9

Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys to Locate 1918 Spanish Flu Victims in Permafrost
Annan, AP
Sensors & Software Inc., Ontario

Berdal, BP
University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine and Rikshospitalet,

Smith, CR
Hospital for Sick Children,

Heginbottom, JA
Geological Survey of Canada, Ontario

Skehel, JJ
The National Institute for Medical Research,

Davis, JL
Sensors & Software Inc., Ontario

Oxford, JS
Retroscreen Virology St. Bartholomew and the Royal London School of Medicine Dentistry,

Duncan, KE
University of Windsor, Ontario

Roberts, N
Roche Discovery Welwyn,

Lewin, PK
Hospital for Sick Children,

Daniels, RS
The National Institute for Medical Research,

Bergan, T
University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine and Rikshospitalet,

(Received 10 February 1999; accepted 5 April 1999)

Abstract

The “Spanish Flu” killed over 40 million people worldwide in 1918. Archival records helped us identify seven men who died of influenza in 1918 and were interred in Longyearbyen. Svalbard, Norway, 1300 km from the North Pole. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was used successfully, in a high-resolution field survey mode, to locate a large excavation with seven coffins, near the existing seven grave markers. The GPR indicated that the ground was disturbed to 2 m depth and was frozen below 1 m. Subsequent excavation showed that: a) the GPR located the position of the graves accurately, b) the coffins were buried less than 1 m deep, and c) that the frozen ground was 1.2 m deep where the coffins were located. The GPR assisted in planning the exhumation, safely and economically, under the high degree of containment required. Virologic and bacteriologic investigations on recovered tissues may give us an opportunity to isolate and identify the micro-organisms involved in the 1918 influenza and expand our knowledge on the pathogenesis of influenza.

Keywords:
forensic science, ground penetrating radar, geophysical survey, Spanish Flu, 1918 Spanish Flu, permafrost, archaeology, graves, Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Paper ID: JFS14642J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS14642J
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