Patent ID: 8738564

Claim:
A pollen-based method for determining the geographic travel history of an object of interest, the method comprising: determining, using Monte Carlo-based method of simulation, an association between a model parameter and a probability P that a first geographic location is a member of the geographic travel history of a hypothetical object-of interest, wherein said determining step comprises the following steps: (a) generating a set of random variables corresponding to a plurality of geographic locations and a plurality of plant species associated with a hypothetical target; (b) populating a first matrix with said set of random variables wherein each column of said first matrix contains one of said plurality of geographic locations and each row of said first matrix contains one of said plurality of plant species; (c) identifying one of said plurality of geographic locations containing the most of said plurality of plant species in said first matrix; (d) assigning a first weighted score W to the one of said plurality of geographic locations identified in step (c); (e) removing the rows of said first matrix corresponding to every of said plurality of plant species found in the one of said plurality of geographic locations identified in step (c) that receives a highest first weighted score W; (f) repeating steps (c) through (e) until every row of said first matrix is removed; (g) associating with at least one of said plurality of geographic locations a first average weighted score W; (h) repeating steps (a) through (g); and (i) deriving a mathematical function that associates said first average weighted score W with the probability P that each of said plurality of geographic locations is a member of the geographic history of said target of interest; and determining at least a portion of the geographic travel history of said object of interest using said association.