The impact of sediment consistency on track and undertrack morphology: Experiments with emu tracks in layered cement

摘要

To demonstrate the influence of sediment consistency on track and undertrack morphology, an emu foot was impressed in four packages of layered, colored cement. The packages contained different ratios of cement to water and were subsequently sliced vertically to reveal the subsurface deformation caused by the foot, and to expose the differences in track and undertrack morphology at different degrees of firmness. A further package of alternating layers of sand and cement layers was prepared, allowing the package to be spilt along horizontal surfaces in order to investigate the undertrack formation and loss of information with depth. The experiments clearly show that increasing water content in the sediment has a strong effect on the morphology of both the true track and the undertracks.