The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

limestone the deepest water and likely least energetic environment in each sequence. By tracking these changes in rock types, geologists are able to define each sequence, or discrete package of sediments. And by tracking each sequence from column to column, the sequences can be correlated on a continental-scale and even on an intercontinental scale. The terminology associated with sequence stratigraphy has ballooned in the past decades, causing some to use the term ‘megasequence’ for the most prominent regional unconformities (Hubbard 1988). Haq et al. (1988) then used the term ‘megasequence’ to designate their First Order sequences, or their largest scale sequences, equivalent to Sloss sequences. Other secular and creation scientists have followed, using the term ‘megasequence’ to describe rock-stratigraphic units traceable over vast areas bounded by unconformities (or their correlative conformities) (Davison 1995; McDonough et al. 2013; Reijers 2011; Thomson and Underhill 1999). Hereafter, this term will be used to designate the six, Sloss-defined megasequences. Megasequences supersede and include multiple geologic systems and in many instances can be recognized by their bounding erosional surfaces and sudden changes in rock type, independent of fossil content (Fig. 2). Many creationists believe megas equences record the sedimentology of the Flood, while fossils record what flora and fauna was buried within each megasequence. They differ from the standard geologic time scale in that they are not based on changes of fossil content as are the Eras, Periods and Epochs (Sloss 1963) (Fig. 2). Although Sloss (1963) initially defined his megasequences across only the interior of North America, oil industry geologists quickly Clarey and Werner ◀ A Flood origin for the geological column ▶ 2018 ICC 328 Figure 1. Secular geologic column showing the uniformitarian timescale and representative fossils. Illustration courtesy of ICR and Susan Windsor. © 2017 Institute for Creation Research. Used by permission.