Visible signs and characteristics. 1  There is a noticeable break in the pattern of the waves: the water often looks flat at the rip, in contrast to the lines of breaking waves on either side of the rip. 2  A river of foam: the surface of the rip sometimes looks foamy, because the current is carrying foam from the surf out to open water.
At the same time, without circulation to keep it moving through the body, blood starts to pool and settle. Rigor mortis, or a stiffening of the body, sets in about two to six hours after death [source: Marchant, Middleton]. While the body as a whole may be dead, little things within the body are still alive. Skin cells, for example, can be viably harvested for up to 24 hours after death [source: Mims]. But some things that are still alive lead to the putrefaction, or decomposition, of the body -- we're talking about little organisms that live in the intestines.
Part 4: How Long Does It Take for a Body to Decompose at ... The duration it takes for a dead body to decompose depends on various factors, any of which may affect the necessary time it takes to break the body down.If a dead body is inside a coffin and buried deep underground for instance, the body could even take 50 years for every tissue of the body to disappear.herefore, if a dead body is exposed to water or air, then it will dramatically decompose. Insects and animals will feed on tissues if a dead body is exposed to them, and this also quickens the decomposing process.