Replying to parts of assorted posts...
>David, do you think Mike has a viable hypothesis geologically? If
>so, I would like to know why? <
In the absence of any supporting geological evidence for all the
features needed for it to work and the problem of restoring
elevation, the model does not seem credible to me.
>According to Carter's article, marine shells, marine terraces (she
>must have been referring to east-west terraces), and other evidence
>show that the waters that drowned southern Mesopotamia was caused by
>a massive movement of the sea from the Gulf. <
A terrace is a surface of uniform elevation formed during a long
period of past water level. It is not produced by a massive or even
a small movement of water. Rather, marine terraces are evidence that
the sea level was higher than present and stayed that way for a long
period of time. They are essentially old shorelines and associated
plains. Their direction is determined by the direction of the old
shoreline.
>So, you can say with absolute certainty that a large meteor impact
>or several such impacts could not possibly trigger earthquakes which
>would cause a few hundred square miles of land to lose 20 some feet
>of elevation over a forty day period of time? <
Not that they could not possibly do so under ideal conditions, but
that the relevant region shows no evidence of either being capable of
doing so or of having done so.
>Are you saying that any earthquake which caused such a loss of
>elevation, possibly a loss of only about 6" a day for 40 days, would
>definitely have destroyed Noah's ark? How can you possibly be sure
>of such a thing? <
No, I am saying that you need to show that an impact large enough to
cause the relevant earthquake would be small enough to spare Noah.
>I admit, if Noah's flood occurred in such a way, It would certainly
>be a highly unusual situation. But the Bible indicates that God
>Himself caused Noah's flood to take place in the way that it did.<
Yes, but I am not convinced that we can pin down the means, timing,
or location with any precision given the available information.
> Do you believe God could not have directed meteors to strike the
>earth in just such a way as to cause Noah's land to first fall 20
>feet, and then several months later to strike the earth in just such
>a way as to cause Noah's land to regain its previous elevation? <
God is capable of doing what He pleases. Indeed, timing rare natural
phenomena to happen just when they were needed seems to be the means
for some miracles (parting the sea, stopping the Jordan, etc.)
However, there is no evidence to indicate that He had made southern
Mesopotamia in such a way as to allow this means of lowering the
land, and He did not make the laws of gravity so as to allow a meteor
impact to elevate land.
>You wrote: Theoretically, I suppose that it is possible to have a
>region drop over 20 feet and come back up about a year later
Thank you. You make my point. <
However, my unspecified region with peculiar geology cannot be
equated with any real location without evidence.
>I doubt you can say with absolute certainty that an impact or
>impacts at just the right location or locations could not possibly
>cause such a reversal. <
Impact force, aimed down and somewhat sideways, does not move things
up. You are asking Mesopotamia to fall up.
>You wrote: Compressional tectonics is the only cause I know of for
>rapid elevation of a region. <
>Well then, maybe compressional tectonics were involved at the time. <
This is an entirely different mechanism, unrelated to impacts.
However, the tectonics are evidently moving the region down, not up,
as shown by your description of the region as a trough.
>You wrote: Dropping a large region of land into the ocean will
>produce large waves, unlikely to have a desirable effect on the ark
>(e.g., turning upside down; washing it either miles inland or out to
>sea).
I suspect you are referring to a rapid drop. The Bible indicates that
the land took 40 days to become flooded which indicates a gradual
drop. <
The drop needs to be rapid enough to present a challenge to Noah's
neighbors trying to escape. Remember also that you are envisioning a
highly unstable setting, triggered to fall by an impact. A net
motion of 20 feet over 40 days is not likely to occur at a constant
rate. Rather, earthquakes go through a series of jerks and stops,
and an impact-triggered movement should start strong and trail off.
Tectonic earthquakes may have small quakes before the largest quake,
but still do not proceed smoothly.
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted
Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at
Droitgate Spa
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