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

cratons (Frazier and Schwimmer 1987). This is the first global pulse of crustal generation as reflected by the large late Archean zircon “age” peak (Condie 2018) (Fig. 2). C. Foundations of the Earth “And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” (Isaiah 51:16 ESV) “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding .” (Job 38:4b ESV) Archean cratons may have cold mantle roots (Hoffman 1990) that extend twice as deep (to about 200 km) as the lithosphere beneath younger continental crust and thermally mature ocean basins. Evidence in favor of this includes the correlation of these cratons with areas of high shear-wave velocities, low surface heat flow and high lithospheric flexural rigidities (Dickens and Snelling 2008). Mantle roots of Archean cratons may be considered as the foundations of the Earth’s crust. Most major lode gold deposits formed in the late Archean, corresponding to the principal time of crustal thickening and stabilization, and was associated with the formation of granulite, the anhydrous, refractory base for the crust (Cameron 1988). D. Hydrothermal activity “Archean greenstone belts are richly endowed with gold and other metals deposits. On flooded continents, an infinite fluid reservoir was available to feed crustal-scale hydrothermal circulations promoting the formation of craton-wide metal deposits in the interior of continents, far away from their margins.” (Rey et al. 2013). The world-class copper-zinc massive sulfide orebodies of the Abitibi greenstone belt of the Superior Province are considered to have formed as chemical precipitates from submarine hydrothermal volcanic vents (Pirajno 1992). Gold deposits of Archean greenstone belts are also said to have a hydrothermal origin (Pirajno 1992). The origin of a typical Algoma-type banded iron formation (BIF) in the Abitibi greenstone belt is said to be closely related to regionally extensive submarine hydrothermal activity associated with the emplacement of volcanic and related subvolcanic rocks. (Taner and Chemam 2015). Earlier models of BIF formation referred to the slow deposition of annual micro-laminations over millions of years (for example, Garrels 1987). However, episodic and rapid deposition of turbidity and density currents may have only lasted a few hours to days! (Dickens 2017a; Lascelles 2013). Modern interpretations consider BIFs as deep sea sediments with iron and silica sourced from reactions between circulating sea water and hot mafic to ultramafic rocks as hydrothermal systems vented onto the sea floor. Hot acidic hydrothermal fluids would immediately precipitate colloidal particles of iron hydroxide and iron silicates on quenching by cold neutral seawater (Lascelles 2013). Banded iron formations (BIFs) are concentrated in the later Archean and Paleoproterozoic regions (Groves et al. 2005), with a few small occurrences in the Neoproterozoic (Reddy and Evans 2009). “.. worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water .” (Revelation 14:7b ESV). “ .. when he established the fountains of the deep.” (Proverbs 8:28b ESV) Springs and fountains may have included sites in the vicinity of hydrothermal areas where stromatolitic structures formed. The Bible’s first mention of the creation of lifeforms is that of seed- bearing land plants on Day Three (Genesis 1:11-12). The Bible does not give a comprehensive listing of lifeforms created. Thus cyanobacteria in the form of stromatolites may have been present even on Day One. Fully-functioning stromatolites and even stromatolite reefs may have been created by God before Day Three along with the carbonate sediments on the floor of the pre-Flood global ocean (Purdom and Snelling 2013; Wise 2003). Death referred to in the Bible applies to “nephesh” organisms. and since stromatolites are not “nephesh” organisms, they could have died during the Creation Week and not violate God’s “very good” creation. In summary, it is proposed that Day One processes be correlated with the development of Archean provinces along with North America’s Kenoran Event (Fig. 2). 3. Northern Paleoproterozoic provinces history A. Movement of waters And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. (Genesis 1:6-8 ESV). The Hebrew word râqı̂ya‛ ( )ַעיִקָר is translated as the expanse (ESV) or firmament (KJV) and has Strong’s Concordance number H7549, which indicates that this apparently represents the visible arch of the sky. This Hebrew word is also used on Day Five of Creation Week where “birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” (Genesis 1:20 ESV). The same word is also used on Day Four of Creation Week with “lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night”. Thus, there is a sense of vertical separation of water. It has been claimed that for the major part of the Earth’s fluid history, fluid transport was mostly upwards, from the outer core to the surface and that the rifting of continents during orogenic episodes delivered mantle water upwards (Santosh et al. 2010). I believe that such a process is consistent with the operation of major episodes of proposed fluid flow on Day Two and with Noahic Flood fountains, that can be inferred from some common features of Paleoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic geology. Provenance analysis using zircon grains has been used to infer that big river systems transported Paleoproterozoic sediments, shed from the Trans-Hudson Province to northern Canada (basins such as the Athabasca and Thelon). (Rainbird et al. 2012). These Paleoproterozoic sediments may have resulted from erosion as continental crust thickened during the Hudsonian Event on Day Two (Dickens 2017b). In addition, sheet-braided rivers and incised paleovalleys have been inferred from Paleoproterozoic sediments of Arctic Canada (Ielpi and Rainbird 2016). I suggest that such deposits also resulted from a great tectonic movement (Hudsonian Event) during Day Two. Dickens ◀ North American Precambrian geology ▶ 2018 ICC 395