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Until now, the analysis of burrowing mechanics has neglected the mechanical properties of impeding, muddy, cohesive sediments, which behave like elastic solids. Here we show that burrowers can progress through such sediments by using a mechanically efficient, previously unsuspected mechanism--crack propagation--in which an alternating 'anchor' system of burrowing serves as a wedge to extend the crack-shaped burrow. The force required to propagate cracks through sediment in this way is relatively small: we find that the force exerted by the annelid worm Nereis virens in making and moving into such a burrow amounts to less than one-tenth of the force it needs to use against rigid aquarium walls.

The pyroclastic aggregate concrete of Trajan's Markets (110 CE), now Museo Fori Imperiali in Rome, has absorbed energy from seismic ground shaking and long-term foundation settlement for nearly two millenia while remaining largely intact at the structural scale. The scientific basis of this exceptional service record is explored through computed tomography of fracture surfaces and synchroton X-ray microdiffraction analyses of a reproduction of the standardized hydrated lime-volcanic ash mortar that binds decimeter-sized tuff and brick aggregate in the conglomeratic concrete. The mortar reproduction gains fracture toughness over 180 d through progressive coalescence of calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) cementing binder with Ca/(Si+Al) ≈ 0.8-0.9 and crystallization of strätlingite and siliceous hydrogarnet (katoite) at ≥90 d, after pozzolanic consumption of hydrated lime was complete. Platey strät-lingite crystals toughen interfacial zones along scoria perimeters and impede macroscale propagation of crack segments. In the 1,900-y-old mortar, C-A-S-H has low Ca/(Si+Al) ≈ 0.45-0.75. Dense clusters of 2-to 30-μm strätlingite plates further reinforce interfacial zones, the weakest link of modern cement-based concrete, and the cementitious matrix. These crystals formed during long-term autogeneous reaction of dissolved calcite from lime and the alkali-rich scoriae groundmass, clay mineral (halloysite), and zeolite (phillipsite and chabazite) surface textures from the Pozzolane Rosse pyroclastic flow, erupted from the nearby Alban Hills volcano. The clastsupported conglomeratic fabric of the concrete presents further resistance to fracture propagation at the structural scale.Roman concrete | volcanic ash mortar | fracture toughness | interfacial zone | strätlingite

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Diatoms developed a variety of mechanisms to form chain‐like colonies, resulting in diverse morphologies and bulk mechanical properties. These properties affect translation, rotation, and deformation of colonies in ambient flows as well as their susceptibility to breakage by flow‐ and grazer‐induced forces. Morphological characteristics of diatom chains have been extensively studied, yet no studies have examined their mechanical properties. We studied the flexibility of four morphologically distinct species (Lithodesmium undulatum, Stephanopyxis turris, Lauderia annulata, and Guinardia delicatula) by measuring their deflections when held across a capillary tip in developing pipe flow and applying simple beam theory and a finite‐difference analysis of curvature to calculate flexural stiffness. Flexural stiffness varies greatly, with at least four orders of magnitude difference among the examined species (from 1.7 × 10−13 N m2, the most rigid, to 1.3 × 10−17 N m2, the most flexible), but two other species (Melosira nummuloides and a Thalassiosira sp.) were too flexible to measure with our apparatus. Vulnerability to breakage by flow also varied between species and, for species with heavily silicified joints between cells, was enhanced under nutrient depletion. These results highlight yet another attribute underlying the biodiversity of diatoms and their potential for utilizing highly differentiated ecological niches. Quantitative information from this study can now be used in the design of more mechanically realistic models that capture the dynamic coupling between elastic particles and flow to study diatom–flow interactions and their effects on nutrient acquisition, encounter with grazers, aggregate formation, and settling.

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