Sand boils induced by the 1993 Mississippi River flood: Could they one day be misinterpreted as earthquake-induced liquefaction?

Research Article| February 01, 1996 Sand boils induced by the 1993 Mississippi River flood: Could they one day be misinterpreted as earthquake-induced liquefaction? Yong Li; Yong Li 1Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar John Craven; John Craven 1Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Eugene S. Schweig; Eugene S. Schweig 2U.S. Geological Survey and Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stephen F. Obermeier Stephen F. Obermeier 3U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 922, Reston, Virginia 22092 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Yong Li 1Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152 John Craven 1Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152 Eugene S. Schweig 2U.S. Geological Survey and Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152 Stephen F. Obermeier 3U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 922, Reston, Virginia 22092 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1996) 24 (2): 171–174. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0171:SBIBTM>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Yong Li, John Craven, Eugene S. Schweig, Stephen F. Obermeier; Sand boils induced by the 1993 Mississippi River flood: Could they one day be misinterpreted as earthquake-induced liquefaction?. Geology 1996;; 24 (2): 171–174. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0171:SBIBTM>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract In areas that are seismically active but lacking clear surficial faulting, many paleoearthquake studies depend on the interpretation of ancient liquefaction features (sand blows) as indicators of prehistoric seismicity. Sand blows, however, can be mimicked by nonseismic sand boils formed by water seeping beneath levees during floods. We examined sand boils induced by the Mississippi River flood of 1993 in order to compare their characteristics with sand blows of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812. We found a number of criteria that allow a distinction between the two types of deposits. (1) Earthquake-induced liquefaction deposits are broadly distributed about an epicentral area, whereas flood-induced sand boils are limited to a narrow band along a river's levee. (2) The conduits of most earthquake-induced sand blows are planar dikes, whereas the conduits of flood-induced sand boils are most commonly tubular. (3) Depression of the preearthquake ground surface is usual for sand blows, not for sand boils. (4) Flood-induced sand boils tend to be better sorted and much finer than sand-blow deposits. (5) Source beds for earthquake-induced deposits occur at a wide range of depths, whereas the source bed for sand boils is always near surface. (6) Materials removed from the walls surrounding the vent of a sand blow are seen inside sand blows, but are rarely seen inside sand boils. In general, flood-induced sand boils examined are interpreted to represent a less-energetic genesis than earthquake-induced liquefaction. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.