Liquefaction and Water Lenses
{"Image DocumentName": "Liquefaction and Water Lenses", "Image ImageDescription": "The wave cycle begins at the left with water being forced down into the seafloor. As the wave trough approaches, that compressed water is released. Water then flows up through the seafloor, lifting the sediments, starting at the top of the sedimentary column. During liquefaction, denser particles sink and lighter particles (and dead organisms, soon to become fossils) float up\u2014until a liquefaction lens is encountered. Lenses of water form along nearly horizontal paths if the sediments below those horizontal paths are more permeable than those above, so more water flows up into each lens than out through its roof. Sedimentary particles and dead organisms buried in the sediments were sorted and resorted into vast, thin layers. In an unpublished experiment at Loma Linda University, a dead bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian were placed in an open water tank. Their buoyancy in the days following death depended on their density while living, the build-up and leakage of gases from their decaying bodies, the absorption or loss of water by their bodies, and other factors. That experiment showed that the natural order of settling following death was amphibian, reptile, mammal, and finally bird. This order of relative buoyancy correlates closely with the evolutionary order, but, of course, evolution did not cause it. Other factors, also influencing burial order at each geographical location, were: liquefaction lenses, which animals were living in the same region, and each animal\u2019s mobility before the flood overtook it.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}