Two people actually told me that in NYC in one of its rivers the dead people that have been murdered go up to the surface on spring and then is when cops find them. How true is that? and if its true... how so?
2007-12-18 16:31:59 · 5 answers · asked by lordnikon31 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Well! Some people steered you wrong. Those who got to wear" cement shoes" don't come up. If the unfortunates have been deposited in the rivers in winter, the body decay is limited and almost non existent due to the cold temperatures.Once the warmer waters come into being, the decay process will begin, gasses will be formed within the corpse and up they come. No kidding on this one.
2007-12-18 16:43:12 · answer #1 · answered by googie 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bacterial decay gives off gas, so that is why dead bodies float after a time. They usually only sink if the person drowned or they are kept in the water long enough for the water to replace the air in the lungs (which is why weights have to be used--you know, stereotypical cement blocks or chains like in the movies)..
As for the spring, I don't know that there is a real correlation. Up here, we have ice, so bodies only show up after the ice goes away. Bodies of snowmobilers, random pedestrians, and such that disappear through the ice in winter are frequently not found until spring.
2007-12-18 16:44:57 · answer #2 · answered by busterwasmycat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dead bodies usually float to the surface within a few days of being in the water. Maybe it appears to happen in spring if the bodies are hidden under ice. When the ice melts, they'll float to the surface, but really bodies float at all times of year.
2007-12-18 16:39:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it could be because of high salt levels in the water.
2007-12-18 16:40:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They bloat up with gases.......
2007-12-18 16:36:20 · answer #5 · answered by Bonnie C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋