Numerical Simulation of the Large-Scale Tectonic Changes Accompanying the Flood

MONDAY, AUGUST 04, 1986

Presented at the First International Conference on Creationism, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 4–9, 1986. Published in: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Creationism, R. E. Walsh, C. L. Brooks, & R. S. Crowell (Eds.), pp. 17–28, 1986.

Abstract

This paper addresses briefly some of the major difficulties in attempting to understand and model the geological and tectonic change of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic portions of the rock record as occurring during the span of but a single year—the year of the biblical Flood. A relatively simple tectonic model is proposed that assumes a pre-Flood earth with a single supercontinent, an intact lithosphere (that is, a lithosphere not broken into plates), and a convecting mantle somewhat warmer than at present. The main energy source for the catastrophe is the gravitational potential energy of the cold, dense lithosphere relative to the warmer mantle below. At the onset of the catastrophe, the lithosphere fractures, and its oceanic portions sink and induce a flow throughout the mantle. Replacement of the pre-Flood oceanic lithosphere with hot, buoyant material from the mantle raises the sea level some 2,000 m. Flow in the mantle pulls the supercontinent apart and induces significant vertical tectonic motions—especially in areas where oceanic lithosphere is being subducted beneath continental regions. Results from a numerical simulation are presented.