ABSTRACTS
The North American Midcontinent and the Genesis Flood Part II: Rifting and the Flood
John K. Reed, Michael J. Oard, Peter Klevberg
If rifting in the North American Midcontinent reflects early Flood processes, then defining the thickness and distribution of the total diluvial record requires mapping the base of these rifts. Using publicly available data, we created a 3D map of the base of the largest, the Midcontinent Rift. Combined with similar maps of the East Continent Basin, the Reelfoot Rift-Rough Creek Graben, and Rome Trough, we propose a basal diluvial boundary for the upper Midcontinent Region. The scale of the rifting is seen in the volume of fill; rift fill comprises well more than half of the total diluvial volume. Despite significant erosion, the rifts remain as stunning reminders of crustal disruption at the onset of the Flood, revealing significant geological activity—structural, erosional, volcanic, intrusive, and depositional—before the transgressive marine front of the Flood. Using these maps, quantitative estimates of all of the Flood and Ice Age rock records can be estimated, providing a solid basis for forensic interpretation.
Does the Mature Creation Concept Explain the Solar System’s Creation?
Jerry Bergman
The concept of the ‘appearance of age’ (or creation with an ‘appearance of history’) is a viable option for the Creation explanation of origins. This view posits that creation was brought into existence in a fully mature and functionally complete state. The example of Adam and Eve being formed as adult humans and the fruit trees in the Garden of Eden with seed-bearing fruit at their origin illustrates two widely accepted examples of the ‘appearance of history,’ or God’s directly producing a mature creation. This example can be extended to the creation of the solar system and even the entire universe. The major problems with the evolutionary origin of our solar system were also briefly reviewed. It is concluded that ‘appearance of age’ is a viable explanation for the origin of the solar system and, by extension, of the universe.
Numerical Evaluation of Post-Flood Formation of Transverse Drainages (Water Gaps)
Nathan W. Mogk
Transverse drainages (water & wind gaps) have been proposed as a criterion for determining the Flood/post-Flood boundary, but what are the limits of the conventional formation mechanisms? In this study I establish an index for comparing transverse drainages of differing depth scales. An index value near zero implies that the stream passes through the lowest divide, and is associated with plausible lake spillover or tectonic and erosional changes to the hydraulic system. An index value near one implies that the transverse drainage is hydraulically close to the same configuration as when it was carved. This index is used to select the Shoshone-Rattlesnake and Wheeler Ridge transverse drainages for modeling their formation by antecedence. Linear and logarithmic uplift models are used. The maximal depth of an antecedent or superimposed transverse drainage is determined to be around 200 ft. without enhanced erosion. Enhanced uplift rate at the end of the Flood is found to necessitate higher erosion rates, and sets a minimum catastrophe size required to generate a gap. For the Shoshone-Rattlesnake transverse drainage, the necessary erosion strongly implies a late-Flood origin, whereas for Wheeler Ridge, the required erosion is of the same order of magnitude as modeled, and could plausibly be generated in post-Flood time by antecedence.
Original Polyploidy as a Contributor to Diversification
Harry Sanders
Plant life is incredibly diverse, with many plant families consisting of thousands or even tens of thousands of species. This extensive diversity must be explained within a creation model of origins. If, as is generally assumed, the taxonomic family is roughly the classification level of the created kinds, then many plant kinds are incredibly diverse. One way to account for this diversity may be created polyploidy. Created polyploidy would allow for an increased number of created alleles, thereby increasing the potential diversity of the original baramins. This increased diversity would enable created polyploids to diversify to the levels we see today within a creationist paradigm. A computer model of the differences in genetic diversity maintained by polyploid and diploid lineages was written in Python, a general-purpose, highlevel, programming language. The model found that polyploids consistently maintained greater diversity than diploids. As such, created polyploidy should be considered as a potential explanation for genetic diversity. This article will propose a unique explanation for the origins of the diversity of many angiosperms as well as some gymnosperms where polyploidy is common.
Fossil Crocodilians Grew Larger and Longer, and Lived Longer than Extant Crocodilians
Jake Hebert
Whatever factor or factors enabled extreme human longevity in the pre- and immediate post-Flood worlds likely also affected the animal kingdom. Thus, direct or indirect evidence for greater past animal longevity is also de facto evidence for greater past human longevity. The field of skeletochronology is making it possible to deduce information about the ontogenetic growth trajectories of giant fossil crocodilians such as Deinosuchus riograndensis (alternately, D. hatcheri) and Sarcosuchus imperator. Their growth curves indicate that these crocodilians grew for at least 50–60 years, a duration significantly greater than even the total typical 30-year lifespan of extant crocodilians. Moreover, a smoothed Deinosuchus growth curve published in the mainstream evolutionary literature suggests this age of 50 years likely significantly underestimates the true age at maturity. Given the evidence from longevity studies linking both larger adult body sizes and greater ages at maturation to greater longevity, the large adult body sizes of Deinosuchus and Sarcosuchus and their prolonged maturation intervals are indirect evidence of lifespans greater than extant crocodilians. Other giant fossil crocodilians, some of which may be direct ancestors of extant crocodilians, were also likely experiencing greater longevity. Moreover, the similarity of giant crocodilian body sizes in Cretaceous, Miocene, and Pliocene strata suggest that these crocodilians obtained their giant sizes under similar environmental conditions. This could
suggest they all lived in the pre-Flood world and would be another argument for a ‘high’ Cenozoic Flood/post-Flood boundary.