Research shows that in dry sand heavy objects float or stay on top while lighter ones sink..
conversely, in water saturated sand lighter objects/mass float while heavy objects/mass sink..
The issue is
density. Liquefied sand is denser than water and the human body is less dense than quicksand, which means you can actually float more easily in quicksand than a swimming pool. Dry money is less dense than newly applied dredging sand, but wet money turns out to be closer to the density of newly applied dredging sand.
Here are the stats.
Density per equivalent volume … is the issue.
Quicksand … (2 g/cm³) --
Paper money … 1.20 g/cm3 Wet money est: (1.93 g/cm³)
Water … (0.99823 g/cm³) or 1 gram/cm3
But, the issue here is bottom sediments, which are probably more dense than standard beach sand.
ps: (I am now back and see this did post. I have edited it to the form above. The issue is Density per equivalent volume … whether something floats or is in suspension or sinks in liquefied sand, ie dredge spoil fresh applied. The Faxios had to wait a number of days in September before things had consolidated enough to take the weight of a tractor. But there was no high water during or after the dredging operation - see below