Standard Practice for 

Determination and 

Comparison of Color by 

Visual Observation in 

Forensic Soil Examination

Geological Materials Subcommittee

Chemistry/Instrumental Analysis Scientific Area Committee

Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science
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Standard Practice for Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual 

Observation in Forensic Soil Examination

OSAC Proposed Standard Practice

Standard Practice for Determination 

and Comparison of Color by Visual 

Observation in Forensic Soil 

Examination

Prepared by

Geological Materials Subcommittee

Version: 1.0

May 2019

Disclaimer:

This document has been developed by the Geological Materials Subcommittee of the 

Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science through a consensus 

process and is proposed for further development through a Standard Developing Organization 

(SDO). This document is being made available so that the forensic science community and 

interested parties can consider the recommendations of the OSAC pertaining to applicable 

forensic science practices. The document was developed with input from experts in a broad array 

of forensic science disciplines as well as scientific research, measurement science, statistics, law, 

and policy. 

This document has not been published by an SDO. Its contents are subject to change during the 

standards development process. All interested groups or individuals are strongly encouraged to 

submit comments on this proposed document during the open comment period administered by 

ASTM International (www.astm.org). 
 

1

1 Include Ballot Rationale Here (Required for all Ballots)

2

3 Standard Practice for

4 Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual Observation

in Forensic Soil Examination1 5

6 This standard is issued under the fixed designation X XXXX; the number immediately following the designation indicates 

7 the year of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the 

8 year of last reapproval. A superscript epsilon () indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval. 

9

10 1. Scope

11 1.1 The purpose of this document is to recommend best practices for describing the color of 

12 forensic soil/geologic material determined by visual assessment and comparison to a reference 

13 color chart. This document encompasses the human visual characterization of soil color in the 

14 Munsell color system and provides criteria in forensic soil comparisons to exclude that soils came 

15 from the same source. Characterization of color of forensic soils by instrumental methods is not 

16 within the scope of this guide. Depending on case requirements, soil color may be used for:

17 screening samples, soil comparisons, or to aid in geographic attribution. 

18 1.2 Units - The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. No other units of 

19 measurement are included in this standard.

20 1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated 

21 with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and 

22 health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

23

1 This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E30 on Forensic Sciences and is the direct responsibility of 

Subcommittee E30.01 on Criminalistics. 

Current edition approved XXX XX, XXXX. Published XXX XXXX. DOI: 10.1520/XXXXXXX.
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Standard Practice for Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual 

Observation in Forensic Soil Examination

24 2. Referenced Documents

25 2.1 ASTM Standards:

26 D1535 Standard Practice for Specifying Color by the Munsell System

27 3. Terminology

28 3.1 Definitions:

29 3.1.1 Munsell color system, n – An ordered system to quantify and describe color based on the 

30 three qualities or attributes: hue (H), value (V), and chroma (C) (FIG. 1), see D1535. 

31 3.1.1.1 hue (H), n – Hue is that attribute of a color by which we distinguish red from green, 

32 blue from yellow, etc. 

33 Discussion: The Munsell color system has principle hues of red (R), yellow (Y), green (G), 

34 blue (B), and purple (P), placed at equal intervals around a neutral point. Between the principle 

35 hues are five intermediate hues: yellow-red (YR), green-yellow (GY), blue-green (BG), 

36 purple-blue (PB) and red-purple (RP) (FIG. 1). Munsell hue is designated with an alphanumeric code (e.g. 7.5YR) (adapted from 1

2

37 ).

38 3.1.1.2 value (V), n – The lightness of a color, from 0 (pure black) to 10 (pure white) in the 

39 Munsell color system (adapted from 1).

40 3.1.1.3 chroma (C), n – The saturation or brilliance of a color, from 0 (no color) to ~8 (for 

41 vividly colored soils) or higher (for non-soil materials) in the Munsell color system (adapted from 

42 1).

2 The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references at the end of this guide.
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43 3.1.1.4 Munsell color code, n - Munsell color is recorded as alpha-numeric Hue Value/Chroma,

44 H V/C (e.g., 7.5YR 5/4 or 5R 6/4); neutral colors, lacking a hue tone, (chroma = 0) are designated 

45 with a “hue” of N and omit chroma or list it as zero (N 3/ or N 3/0).

46 3.1.2 color blindness, n – total or partial inability to differentiate certain hues and chromas.

47 3.1.3 questioned sample, n - An item located at a crime scene or of undetermined origin that is 

48 analyzed in an attempt to identify or associate it with a known exemplar or sample (adapted from 

49 2).

50 Discussion – Soil evidence of unknown origin, or questioned soil sample, typically consists of: 

51 debris adhering to an evidentiary object (tire, wheel well, garment, shoe, digging tool); exogenous 

52 soil left at a crime scene (transferred from a shoe/tire, or adhering to a re-buried body/object); or 

53 debris recovered from within a body (nasal, stomach or lung contents). 

54 3.1.4 known sample –Of established origin associated with the matter under investigation 2).

55 Discussion– Known soil samples are intentionally collected, typically from crime scene or alibi 

56 locations, for comparison to a questioned soil sample. Soils are heterogeneous mixtures of organic 

57 matter and minerals that vary with depth and across the landscape. Typically, a greater number 

58 known soils samples are needed than manufactured materials to represent the range of variation 

59 (3). 

60 3.1.5 aggregate(s) [clump(s)], n – a group of soil particles that cohere to each other more 

61 strongly than to other surrounding particles.

62 Discussion. Soil aggregates may be natural (a ped) or formed by human activities (a clod). 

63 Often the genesis of evidentiary soil aggregates is unknown, so aggregate is often a preferred term 

64 in descriptions of soil evidence
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65 3.1.6 matrix color, n – dominant or background color component of a soil aggregate, ped, clod 

66 or horizon (adapted from 1).

67 3.1.7 mottles, mottling, n (mottled, adj.) or non-matrix color - Segregations within the soil 

68 matrix with different color or shades of color interspersed with the dominant (matrix) color.

69 Discussion. The National Soil Survey reserves the term mottles for color variations that cannot 

70 be associated with compositional properties of the soil, and specify color variations attributable 

71 to compositional variations with distinct terms (redoximorphic features, concentrations, ped 

72 coatings, etc.)(1), but in a forensic laboratory mottling is often used to describe any color contrast

73 within a soil aggregate, regardless of its origin.

74 3.1.8 color contrast, n - the degree of visual difference that is evident between one soil color 

75 compared with another in close proximity (adapted from 4). 

76 Discussion: Within this document, color contrast refers to color difference between evidentiary 

77 soil samples. 

78 3.1.8.1 color contrast classes, n – Degree of color distinction (color contrast) between colors 

79 within a soil are categorized as faint, distinct and prominent (1). 

80 Discussion: Within this document, these contrast classes are used to describe the degree of 

81 color distinction between two evidentiary soil samples, whereas the National Soil Survey uses 

82 these contrast classes to describe color distinction with soil horizons. Faint color contrast is evident 

83 only on close examination. Distinct color contrast is readily seen but contrasts only moderately 

84 with the color to which it is compared. Prominent indicates colors which contrast strongly with 

85 the color to which it is compared; prominent colors are commonly the most obvious color feature 

86 of the section described. The National Soil Survey’s thresholds between faint and distinct color 

87 contrast (4) are adapted as exclusion criteria in forensic soil comparisons (9.6).
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88 3.1.8.2 metamerism, n - When colors are perceived to be matching despite having different 

89 spectral profiles; these spectral differences may be apparent under different illumination 

90 conditions. 

91 4. Summary of Practice

92 4.1 Color is an easily observable characteristic of soils and is integral to the taxonomic 

93 classifications of soils (5-6). Most soil pigmentation is derived from soil organic matter and 

94 iron/manganese bearing minerals (7). The factors controlling these colors include the parent 

95 material, hydrology, vegetation, and extent of soil weathering, making soil color a valuable 

96 diagnostic tool for forensic examination purposes. Soils and sediments are often inadvertently 

97 transferred to people, garments, shoes, tools, or vehicles and subsequently collected as forensic 

98 evidence. Forensic examination of soils can have several goals, most commonly identifying 

99 materials as being soil, comparing soil evidence to known exemplars collected from crime scene 

100 or alibi locations, and analyzing soil for indications of its likely geographic or environmental 

101 origin to provide investigative leads or aid in searches. Forensic soil examiners have adapted the 

102 Munsell color characterization methods used by soil scientists in field settings to evidentiary 

103 soils in a laboratory setting (1,8) and soil color has been shown to be a reliable method for 

104 differentiation of forensic soil evidence (9-10).

105 4.2 The color of soil evidence is characterized in the Munsell color system by direct visual 

106 comparison to pigmented chips in a soil color chart. 

107 4.3 When comparing colors of soil evidence, use similar conditions among all samples 

108 (illumination (7.2), sample treatments (9.4.2), moisture levels (6.2.1), soil color book (7.1.3)).

109 5. Significance and Use
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110 5.1 Color determination for soil comparisons – Soil color is typically determined early in the 

111 examination scheme of forensic soil comparisons because this property can be characterized

112 quickly, non-destructively, and with minimal or no sample modification. Determining distinct or 

113 prominent color differences between two soils, in the absence of an interference (see 6.2 to 6.6), 

114 is sufficient to permit an exclusion of a common source of the soils. Soils with somewhat similar 

115 color will require additional examinations to draw further conclusions. 

116 5.2 Comparisons of soil color to reference data – Determination of soil color by visual 

117 comparison to a soil color chart may be used to compare the color of questioned soils to reference 

118 data published by soil surveys (11-13). 

119 5.2.1 Comparison to reference data may be used to describe the prevalence or rarity of a soil 

120 color within an area of interest.

121 5.2.2 Comparison to reference data may be used as an investigative lead to define more likely 

122 source locations for a questioned soil.

123 5.3 Soil color in prioritization– When numerous known soils are collected from a crime scene 

124 or alibi location (an optimal situation), side-by-side color comparison of each known sample to a 

125 questioned sample allows the forensic scientist to prioritize the forensic soil examination to the 

126 known samples with the colors most similar to the questioned soil for targeted and more detailed 

127 examinations (9.3). 

128 6. Interferences:

129 6.1 Color blindness – People who are partially or fully color blind will not be able to perform 

130 this examination accurately.
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131 6.2 Moisture – Differences in moisture content can change Munsell value by as much as 2.0 

132 units and hue by as much as 0.3 (14). 

133 6.2.1 If comparing the colors of soil samples (9.6), the soils must have similar moisture 

134 contents. Creating similar soil moisture conditions among evidentiary soils is most easily achieved 

135 by air drying the samples at room temperature. Do not compare soils on the basis of color when 

136 the soils have different moisture levels.

137 6.2.2 If comparing soil colors to reference data (5.2), the soil evidence must be in the same 

138 moisture condition as the reference data (moist or dry). 

139 6.3 Contamination – Contamination of soil evidence with exogenous material (e.g. human 

140 decomposition products, mold, soot/char, rust from sample storage containers) can alter the color 

141 of the soil. When visual inspection of soil evidence or case circumstances indicate possible 

142 contamination of one of the soils, do not compare the soils on the basis of color.

143 6.4 Alteration – Soil evidence can be altered from its source by a number of factors, including: 

144 size fractionation, fire, change in the reduction-oxidation state (15-16), exposure to stomach acid, 

145 etc. Such alterations can impact soil color. When visual inspection of soil evidence or case 

146 circumstances indicate possible alteration of one of the soils, do not compare the soils on the basis 

147 of color. 

148 6.5 Soils unsuitable for color comparison: If the quantity of a questioned soil is so small that 

149 the observer cannot determine its color without magnification, do not compare soils on the basis 

150 of color. Questioned soil samples consisting of mixtures of soils from more than one source are 

151 unsuitable for color determination unless these soils can be physically segregated or if different 

152 soil types can be characterized in situ. 
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153 6.6 Non-representative known soil samples: The known soilssubmitted to a forensic laboratory 

154 for comparison to a questioned soil do not always represent the full range of colors at the source 

155 location due to mottling and/or sparse sampling. A forensic soil analysis should acknowledge that 

156 any comparison is limited by how well the known samples represent the source area.

157 Recommendations for collection of better known soil exemplars are described in (3).

158 6.7 Contamination or fading of the standard color chart – Soil color charts, particularly those 

159 used in field settings, may become contaminated with soil, obscuring the true colors of the 

160 pigmented chips. Some studies have indicated that the chips in Munsell color books do not fade or 

161 change color over decades (17) while others have observed fading with use (18-19). Laboratories 

162 should have a procedure for verifying the accuracy of their soil color charts. The accuracy of the 

163 charts should be verified on a regular basis (e.g. by colorimetry, or comparison to suitable 

164 standard). For Munsell soil color charts used exclusively in a laboratory setting, every four years 

165 is a reasonable frequency of verification. 

166 7. Materials

167 7.1 Soil color charts – Soil color charts consist of pigmented chips of color standards, labeled 

168 with Munsell color notations which span a range of colors common in soils. 

169 7.1.1 Munsell Soil Color Charts - Munsell soil color charts (X-Rite, 20) contain standard soil 

170 color chips organized with pages of specific hues from 5R to 5Y in increments of 2.5 hue units, 

171 supplemented by “10G-5GY” (for glauconitic or other green-hued soils), two “GLEY” pages (for 

172 soil colors formed under anaerobic conditions), and “WHITE” (e.g. evaporites, carbonate 

173 accumulations, albic horizon, and E-horizons). Each hue page, from 5R to 5Y, has a grid of chips 

174 that systematically range in both value (dark to light) and chroma (weak to vivid) (FIG. 2).
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Standard Practice for Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual 

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175 7.1.2 GLOBE Soil Color Book - Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment 

176 (GLOBE) program has produced a book of pigmented color chips for use in determining the 

177 Munsell color of soils samples (21). The GLOBE color chips are comparable to the X-Rite Munsell 

178 Soil Color Chart (17,22), but are physically arranged in a different configuration. The GLOBE soil 

179 color book may be used in lieu of the X-Rite Munsell Soil Color Chart for forensic soil color 

180 determination, but will not be referred to further in this guide. 

181 7.1.3 Use of a single color book – Within a case, use a single soil color book for all color 

182 determinations and document the book used.

183 7.2 Light source - Soil color determinations may be made in a variety of illumination 

184 conditions. When performing forensic comparison of soils, use the same illumination conditions 

185 for all color determinations. When comparing soil color to published reference data (5.2), use an

186 illuminant for color measurement similar to that which was used for the reference data (e.g. for 

187 soils colors from the National Soil Survey databases determined in field settings (11-13), the 

188 illuminant should be similar to sunlight, D-65). Use of multiple illuminants might facilitate 

189 visualization of metamerism (9.4.1.1).

190 8. Hazards

191 8.1 When soil evidence could be contaminated with potentially hazardous materials, use 

192 personal protective equipment appropriate to the suspected hazard.

193 9. Procedure

194 9.1 Preliminary Visual Examination – During the initial assessment of questioned soil 

195 samples, the forensic scientist should examine the soil(s) for aggregates of varying color and 

196 texture. If possible, aggregates of different color(s), particle size, or morphology(s) should be 

197 segregated and analyzed separately. Aggregates with distinctly different colors can indicate the 
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198 presence of more than one soil source within the sample or mottling of the source material. If 

199 segregation of the visually distinct soils is not possible, then the varied colors of the soil aggregates 

200 may be determined while intact.

201 9.2 In situ soils - The color of soil adhering to an item of evidence, like a garment, may be 

202 determined in situ so long as the soil completely obscures the color of the underlying substrate. 

203 9.3 Prioritization of known soils by color – When numerous known soil exemplars are 

204 submitted for forensic soil comparison, visual color comparison, along with other morphological 

205 and textural properties, may be used to triage samples for detailed examination of select known 

206 soils for comparison to a questioned soil. This prioritization permits known soils with color within 

207 the thresholds described in 9.6.2 to be excluded from detailed subsequent examination in favor of 

208 known soils with colors and textures more similar to the questioned sample. 

209 9.4 Soil Color Determination - Soil color is determined by visual comparison to the pigmented 

210 chips of the Munsell Soil Color Charts.

211 9.4.1 Illumination - Illuminate the sample and place the soil color chart atop of it, so that both 

212 the sample and standard chips can be viewed simultaneously. View the sample through the holes 

213 (when using the Munsell charts) and determine which color chip most closely resembles the color 

214 of each soil or component of interest (e.g. matrix, mottles, etc.).

215 9.4.1.1 The use of multiple illuminants, adding and removing ultraviolet (UV) light in 

216 particular, assists in soil color comparisons by permitting documentation of metamerism (7.2).

217 9.4.2 Possible sample treatments
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218 9.4.2.1 If the sample is of sufficient size, disaggregation and subsequent particle size 

219 fractionation (i.e. sieving or sedimentation, 23) or other treatments (heating, removal of iron oxides 

220 9-10) may be conducted prior to color determination.

221 9.4.2.2 Visual color determination of a heterogeneous material, for example coarse sand 

222 composed of multi-colored grains, will benefit from de-focusing one’s eyes or removing corrective 

223 eyewear to “integrate” the color of the soil across the field of view. 

224 9.4.3 Reporting of soil color(s) - Report color to the nearest chip, and when a soil color is 

225 intermediate between two Munsell color chips on the basis chroma or value, the examiner may 

226 interpolate the Munsell color to be intermediate between the adjacent chips (e.g. 10YR 4.5/4 or 

227 between 10YR 4/4 and 10YR 5/4.) Do not interpolate between hue pages. 

228 9.5 Comparison of soil color(s) - In addition to recording the Munsell soil color of different 

229 samples of soil, the analyst should examine questioned and known soils side-by-side to directly 

230 compare their colors.

231 9.5.1 When comparing color between soil samples, the analyst should ensure that the 

232 observations are conducted under the same lighting (9.4.1), moisture (6.2), and physical conditions 

233 (9.4.2.1).

234 9.5.2 If two or more soil samples are nominally similar in color (e.g., their colors are 

235 determined to be the same or adjacent chips on the Munsell color chart), but there is a visually 

236 observable, but unquantifiable, color difference between the samples, the examiner may report a 

237 statement such as “soils A and B were each determined to have a Munsell color of 5YR 4/3; 

238 however, soil A was visibly redder/darker than B.”

239 9.6 Interpretation of color differences in forensic soil comparisons and exclusion criteria
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240 9.6.1 One of the primary reasons for conducting a forensic soil examination is to compare a 

241 questioned soil to a known soil or to compare two or more questioned soils to determine if they 

242 could share a common source. In the absence of potential interferences (6.2 to 6.6), if soil colors 

243 are suitably different, then color determination alone can provide sufficient information to permit 

244 exclusion of a common source.

245 9.6.1.1 The National Soil Survey soil color contrast classes provide a framework for evaluating 

246 the similarities between two soil color determinations. The National Soil Survey uses color 

247 contrast categories of: faint (color contrast is evident only on close examination), distinct (color 

248 contrast is readily seen but contrasts only moderately with the color to which it is compared) and 

249 prominent (color contrasts strongly with the color to which it is compared) to characterize color 

250 differences within a soil horizon (4) and provides specific boundaries between these color contrast 

251 classes. Conceptually, faint color contrast in forensic soil comparisons, in the absence of 

252 interferences (6.2 to 6.6), would indicate additional forensic examinations are warranted to 

253 determine if the soils originated from separate sources. Distinct and prominent color contrast 

254 between forensic soils, in the absence of interferences (6.2 to 6.6), provides sufficient evidence to 

255 permit exclusion of a common source. 

256 9.6.2 Evaluation criteria for soil color comparisons - The following criteria describe color 

257 contrast thresholds beyond which soils colors are sufficiently distinct to permit a statement that 

258 excludes a common source for the soils. When soil colors are within these thresholds, additional 

259 methods of examination are required to reach a conclusion. However, even if the color differences 

260 between two or more soils exceed these thresholds, an examiner may choose to conduct additional 

261 soil examinations beyond color comparisons at their discretion (e.g., suspected interferences). 

262 These criteria integrate some of the National Soil Survey thresholds for faint versus distinct color 
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263 contrast but are slightly more expansive in the faint color contrast class. Sections 9.6.2.1 through 

264 9.6.2.3 must be considered in sequence and are summarized in FIG. 3.

265 9.6.2.1 Colors of low chroma and low value - When the Munsell color of two soils each have 

266 values ≤ 3 (dark) and chromas ≤ 2 (low color saturation), determination of the hue is difficult and 

267 they meet the National Soil Survey faint color contrast class (4). These colors are sufficiently 

268 similar to indicate additional soil characterization is needed to complete the forensic soil 

269 comparison.

270 9.6.2.2 Colors of low chroma and the same value – When comparing soils with chromas <2 

271 (low color saturation), the same values >3, and hue offsets ≤ 3 pages (≤ 7.5 hue units), the color 

272 contrast is faint. These colors are sufficiently similar to indicate additional soil characterization is 

273 needed to complete forensic soil comparison. Kirillova et al (19) demonstrated the low color 

274 contrast present among low chroma chips on the Munsell soil color chart.

275 9.6.2.3 Adjacent soil color chips - When comparing soil colors, if the hue is from the same or 

276 adjacent hue pages (≤ 2.5 hue units) with a difference in value ≤ 1, and difference in chroma ≤ 1, 

277 the color contrast class is faint (4) and indicates additional soil characterization is needed to 

278 complete forensic soil comparison. This is the soil color difference criterion suggested in (10) for 

279 forensic soil comparison.

280 9.6.2.4 When the color contrast between two soils exceeds all three criteria in 9.6.2.1 through 

281 9.6.2.3 the examiner may conclude that they originated from distinct sources (exclusion). 

282 However, the examiner may choose to conduct additional methods of examination, particularly if 

283 they suspect some kind of interference.

284 10. Precision and Bias
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285 10.1 The text below briefly reviews the precision and bias of soil color determined by visual 

286 comparison to a color chart derived from a few studies from soil science scholarship and not 

287 specifically for forensic soil examinations; there may be additional limitations in color 

288 determination of very small evidentiary soil samples.

289 10.2 Precision of color determinations: The precision of soil colors determined by visual 

290 comparison to the Munsell soil color chart is largely limited by the resolution of the chart. It is 

291 possible for an experienced examiner to note that a color is intermediate between two color chips, 

292 and perhaps closer to one chip than another (24). Post et al (14) reported the standard deviation of 

293 dry soil color determinations among experienced soil scientists to be 0.54 hue pages, 0.53 value 

294 units and 0.65 chroma units. The reproducibility of soil color determinations by different 

295 individuals, while applying the uncertainty threshold of the adjacent color chips (analogous to 

296 9.6.2.3) is 99.6% in hue, 98.0% in value and 92.3% in chroma (25). There are also a number of

297 additional studies comparing soil color determinations made by different individuals (26-27).

298 10.3 Repeatability of color determinations: Four individuals visually determined soil color on 

299 276 diverse soil specimens each at two different dates in (25) and showed mean repeatability of 

300 83.4% for hue, 63.6% for value, 69.3% for chroma, and 40.0% for full Munsell color. This 

301 repeatability significantly improved when the criteria were relaxed to a one chip offset in hue, 

302 value, and chroma (color contrast thresholds in 9.6.2.3) yielding average repeatability of 99.6%

303 for hue, 98.0% for value, 92.2% for chroma, and 92.0% for full Munsell color.

304 10.4 Bias in soil color determinations: Different illumination conditions can cause slight color 

305 bias in some samples; but use of the same illuminant in soil color comparisons mitigates this bias 

306 (7.2). On average, visual soil color determination is slightly biased relative to instrumentally 

307 determined soil color. Torrent et al (28) found visual observations to be: redder by 0.5 hue units, 
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Standard Practice for Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual 

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308 higher in value by 0.3 units and higher in chromas by 10%. This bias of visual color determinations 

309 toward higher value and chroma was also confirmed in (14,25). Replicate color determinations by 

310 the same individuals, separated in time, are more reproducible than those made by different 

311 observers, indicating some bias derived from the observer (25).

312 10.5 Applicability of these uncertainties to forensic soil comparisons: Studies have not yet 

313 been conducted to assess the potential biases in soil color determinations made on exceedingly 

314 small soil specimens like those that may be encountered in forensic soil examinations. The 

315 exclusion criterion in 9.6.2.3 has a threshold based on the resolution of the soil color chart (10)

316 and is similar to the precision of color determinations by different observers and repeat 

317 observations by the same observer (25).

318 11. Keywords

319 11.1 Forensic soil examination, forensic soil comparison, soil color.

320 REFERENCES

321 (1) Soil Science Division Staff, “Examination and Description of Soil Profiles,” Chapter 3, In: 

322 Ditzler C., Scheffe K., Monger, H. C., editors. Soil Survey Manual, USDA Handbook 18. 

323 Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office; 2017, p. 603. 

324 (2) OSAC Lexicon, http://lexicon.forensicosac.org/Term/Home/Index, 2019.

325 (3) OSAC-Geological Materials “Standard Guide for the Collection of Soils and Other 

326 Geological Evidence for Criminal Forensic Applications,” draft 2019.

327 (4) Soil Survey Staff. Soil Color Contrast, Soil Survey Technical Note No. 2, National Soil 

328 Survey Center, Lincoln, NE. 2002.
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(5) Soil Survey Staff. Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 12th 329 ed. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation 

330 Service, Washington, D.C., 2014, p. 360.

331 (6) IUSS Working Group WRB. World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, update 2015, 

332 International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps.

333 World Soil Resources Reports No 106. Rome. FAO, 2015, p. 106.

334 (7) Bigham, J. M., and Ciolkosz, E. J., editors, Soil Color, Soil Science Society of America 

335 Special Publication 31. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, 1993, p 159.

336 (8) Schoeneberger, P. J., Wysocki, D. A., Benham, E. C., and Soil Survey Staff. Field Book for 

337 Describing and Sampling Soils, Version 3.0, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 

338 National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE. 2012, p. 300.

339 (9) Dudley, R.J., 1975. “The use of colour in the discrimination between soils,” Journal of the 

340 Forensic Science Society, Vol 15, No. 3, pp. 209-218.

341 (10) Sugita, R. and Marumo, Y., “Validity of Color Examination for Forensic Soil 

342 Identification,” Forensic Science International, Vol 83, 1996, pp. 201-210.

343 (11) National Cooperative Soil Survey, National Cooperative Soil Characterization Database. 

344 Available online.

345 (12) Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of 

346 Agriculture. Official Soil Series Descriptions. Available online.

347 (13) Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of 

348 Agriculture. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database. Available online.
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349 (14) Post, D. F., Bryant, R. B., Batchily, A. K., Huete, A. R., Levine, S. J., Mays, M. D.,

350 Escadafal, R. “Correlations Between Field and Laboratory Measurements of Soil Color”, ch.3

351 In, Soil Color, SSSA Spec. Publ. 31. SSSA, Madison, WI. 1993. pp. 35-49.

352 (15) Daugherty, L. “Soil Science Contribution to an Airplane Crash Investigation, Ruidoso, 

353 New Mexico,” Journal Forensic Science, Vol 42, No. 3, 1997, pp. 401-405. 

354 (16) Lee, B., Williamson, T., and Graham, R., “Identification of Stolen Rare Palm Trees by Soil 

355 Morphological and Mineralogical Properties,” Journal Forensic Science, Vol 47, No. 1, 2002, 

356 pp. 190-194.

357 (17) Rabenhorst, M., Thompson, J. A., Schmehling, A., and Rossi, A. M. “Reliability of Soil 

358 Color Standards,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 79 No.1, 2015, pp. 193-199.

359 (18) Sánchez-Marañón, M., Huertas, R. and Melgosa, M., “Colour Variation in Standard Soil360 Colour Charts,” Soil Research, Vol 43, No. 7, 2005, pp. 827-837.

361 (19) Kirillova, N. P., Grauer-Gray, J., Hartemink, A. E., Sileova, T. M., Artemyeva, Z. S. and 

362 Burova, E. K., “New perspectives to use Munsell color charts with electronic devices,” 

363 Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Vol 155, 2018, pp. 378-385.

364 (20) Munsell, A. H., Munsell Soil Color Charts: With Genuine Munsell* Color Chips. Munsell 

365 Color, 2013.Grand Rapids, MI: Munsell Color. (X-Rite SKU:M50215B).

366 (21) GLOBE Soil Color Book: A Pocket Guide for the Identification of Soil Color published by 

367 Visual Color Systems.

368 (22) Thompson, J. A., Pollio, A. R., and Turk, P. J., “Comparison of Munsell Soil Color Charts 

369 and the GLOBE Soil Color Book,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol 77, 2013, 

370 pp. 2089-2093.
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Standard Practice for Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual 

Observation in Forensic Soil Examination

371 (23) Janssen D. W., Ruhf W. A., and Prichard, W. W., “The Use of Clay for Soil Color 

372 Comparisons,” Journal of Forensic Science, Vol 28 No. 3, July 1983, pp. 773-776.

373 (24) Rabenhorst, M. C., Matovich, M. M., Rossi, A. M., and Fenstermacher D. E., “Visual 

374 Assessment and Interpolation of Low Chroma Soil Colors,” Soil Science Society of America 

375 Journal, Vol 78, 2014, pp. 567-570. 

376 (25) Marqués-Mateu Á., Moreno-Ramón H., Balasch S., and Ibáñez-Asensio S., “Quantifying 

377 the uncertainty of soil colour measurements with Munsell charts using a modified attribute 

378 agreement analysis,” Catena, Vol 1, 2018, pp. 171:44-53.

379 (26) Shields, J. A., St. Arnaud, R. J., Paul, E. A. and Clayton, J. S., “Measurement of soil color,”

380 Canadian Journal of Soil Science, Vol 46, No. 1,1966, pp.83-90.

381 (27) Cooper, T. H., “Development of students’ abilities to match soil color to Munsell color 

382 chips,” Journal of Agronomic Education, Vol 19, No. 2, 1990:141–144.

383 (28) Torrent, J., Schwertmann, U., Fechter H., and Alferez, F., "Quantitative relationships 

384 between soil color and hematite content." Soil Science, Vol 136, No. 6, 1983, pp. 354-358.

385

386 FIGURES

387
21

Standard Practice for Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual 

Observation in Forensic Soil Examination

388

389

390 FIG. 1 Schematic representation of the Munsell soil color dimensions

391

392

393 FIG. 2 Arrangement and population of hue pages (5R to 5Y) in the Munsell color charts. Black 

394 cells indicate value/chroma chips that are present on all hue pages, and purple cells indicate 

395 value/chroma chips that are present on some of the hue pages. Colors approximate the 10YR hue 

396 page.
22

Standard Practice for Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual 

Observation in Forensic Soil Examination

397

398 FIG. 3 Flow chart to aid in determining if exclusion of a common source of soil is recommended 

399 based on soil color.

400